The Catholic Bishop of Torit Stephen Ameyu Martin appealed to parents to encourage their children to join the seminary and the convent.
He said it is then role of every Christians to encourage the young ones to join seminary and convent so as to become priest and sisters, Radio Emmanuel reported.
‘I would appeal to you also that if we would like our church to be strong let as send our children to the seminary, to the convent. It is a role of the parish councillors, catechists and the young people to at least recruit for the seminary and for the convent. Let us understand also that you cannot go to the seminary unless you have gone from primary one until primary eight so it is not a question of a bishop sending some body, it is a question of you if you would like to become a sister, so you like to tell the parish priest ok I would like to go to the convent it is not the bishop I am there to encourage’, he clarified.
Bishop Ameyu encouraged Christians to work together as children of God in building better leaders who will in future change the Country.
He explained that lack of priests in the diocese has hindered evangelization in many parts, advising parents to take lead in sending their children to formation houses.
‘I like to recruit our next seminarian from the village because they will bear everything. Again let me say this if there is a priest here, everything will come little by little. We will begin may be with the kindergarten and then from there to the primary. All these things can come when the priest is staying here because the church go stage by stage even the hospital that you were talking about the dispensary, it could come when at least a priest is stationed here permanently’, the bishop explained.
He added ‘we have our social wings, the social wing is responsible for those kind of things for relief, for the hospital, for the education for many other things so if a priest is station here so every service will be given to you’.
The Bishop made the remarks last Monday when the chairperson of Pastoral Parish Council at Our Lady of Consolation in Lafon complained that lack of parish priest hinders evangelization in the area.