Seminarians in Angolan Diocese Cautioned against “excessive use of social media”

Lwena, 20 September, 2023 / 9:35 PM

Bishop Martín Lasarte Topolansky of Angola’s Lwena Diocese has cautioned Seminarians in his Episcopal See against “excessive use of social media.”

Speaking at the opening Mass for the 2023/2024 academic year of St. Joseph Major Seminary and St. John Mary Vianney Propaedeutic Seminary in Angola’s Lwena Diocese, Bishop Lasarte said, “Avoid excessive use of social media in order to concentrate on the essentials of your vocation.” 

“A seminarian who is on social media every day with his phone, sending WhatsApp to everyone loses concentration,” he said during the Tuesday, September 19 Eucharistic celebration.

The Uruguayan-born member of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), whose Episcopal appointment was made public on July 1 recommended “sobriety in the use of the means of communication and sobriety in faith.”

“We need to pass on a word of hope to those who are suffering. We want Seminarians with a big heart for the people,” Bishop Lasarte said.

He went on to appeal for Seminarians, who have “that inner fire that leads you to love all those who need to be loved, who live in contempt, who suffer, who live far from the Lord, who live in ignorance, and who live in suffering.”

Persons undergoing suffering, the SDB Bishop said, “need a word of hope so that they may be resurrected as Jesus did.”

Bishop Lasarte said that plans are underway to open new Seminaries “in the province of Moxico, which includes the territory of the Diocese of Lwena, with the aim of encouraging new vocations to Priestly life.”

On July 12,  the Dean of Studies and Discipline at St. Joseph Major Seminary appealed for partnerships towards the 2023/2024 academic year to continue the training of future Priests in Lwena Diocese.

“The lack of financial means to cover the fixed costs of the seminaries has prompted the launching of an appeal for help for hundreds of Seminarians to return to the formation houses,” Fr. Amilton Camuele said.

With a capacity to accommodate 70 candidates, St. Joseph Major Seminary started in 2016 with 35 Seminarians. 

The Seminary has four classrooms, a library, equipped with several academic books, a conference room for 50 people, a cafeteria with 70 seats, a TV room, a dormitory for 56 people, and a soccer field; 16 teachers and technical trainers serve the Seminary community.

João Vissesse contributed in the writing of this story