The apostolic nuncio to Ghana has challenged young Catholics from across West Africa to reject fear, build friendships rooted in faith and embrace their responsibility as the “today of God” in the Church and their countries. Source: EWTN News.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the first-ever West African Youth Day (WAYD) in Accra on Tuesday, Archbishop Julien Kaboré said young people should not see themselves as victims of the challenges facing their societies or as a generation forced to wait for its opportunity to make a difference.
Instead, he said, young West Africans are already needed by the Church and their countries.
“Do not lose hope. You are not a sacrificed generation. You are not a lost generation. You are not a generation without a future,” Archbishop Kaboré said.
He acknowledged that many young people are growing up amid uncertainty, insecurity, violence and anxiety about what the future holds. Yet, he said, these realities should not determine how they understand themselves or their place in society.
The Church, he explained, recognises young people as having an active role in the life of the Church and the world.
“In the Church, which is the family of God, the Holy Father calls you the ‘today of God’,” Archbishop Kaboré said.
A native of Burkina Faso, Archbishop Kaboré, who has been the Pope’s representative in Ghana since June 2024, emphasised that the energy, dreams, talents, and hope of young people are not simply resources for the future but gifts that are needed in the present.
“Life needs you today. The Church needs you today. Your countries need you today,” he told the participants.
The September 7–11 event is being celebrated under the theme “Take Courage, Catholic Youth, as Actors and Agents of Peace and Hope in West Africa”.
The gathering has brought together youth from the 16 countries in the West African region and has been organised by the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa.
In his address, the nuncio challenged young people to see WAYD not simply as a major Catholic celebration but as an opportunity to discern how they can contribute to the future of West Africa.
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Apostolic nuncio in Ghana challenges West African youth to transform Africa (By Jude Atemanke, EWTN News)
