Luanda, 06 July, 2024 / 8:57 pm (ACI Africa).
The Catholic Church’s judicial processes in Angola need “profound” adjustments so the people of God seeking redress are better served, the President of the Episcopal Commission for Laity and Family Life of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST) has said.
In his address at the opening ceremony of the First National Canon Law Forum organized under the theme, “Ecclesiastical Tribunal at the Service of Evangelization”, Bishop Emílio Sumbelelo underscored the need to examine the current situation and get it updated.
“The Church's judicial activities belong directly and essentially to the Church's Pastoral Action and her mission of evangelization,” Bishop Sumbelelo said during the Thursday, July 4 event at CEAST headquarters in Angola’s capital city, Luanda.
These judicial activities “need a profound pastoral transformation,” he said, adding that the situation of the judicial tribunal in the country needs “renewal and constant improvement.”
“We can avoid some risks such as bureaucratic and formal judicial styles when the transformation of structures is understood by the Bishops and court officials,” the Local Ordinary of Angola’s Catholic Diocese of Viana said.