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Catholic Bishops in Benin Urge Youth to “cultivate spirit of creativity, entrepreneurship”

Members of the Episcopal Conference of Benin (CEB). Credit: Presidency of Benin

Young people who nurture “creativity and entrepreneurship” are unlikely to get involved in crime, Catholic Bishops in Benin have said, and urged the leadership of the West African nation to strategize for “job creators rather than job seekers”. 

In a collective statement, members of the Episcopal Conference of Benin (CEB) who concluded their third Ordinary Session for the pastoral year 2022-2023 on Friday, May 26 urge young people to foster honest living, and to follow “the path of ethics and virtue”.

CEB members urge young people and those who are “increasingly drawn into the perilous path of greed, through scams, cybercrimes and many other such practices, in the name of the Lord, to choose life by following the path of ethics and virtue, the fundamental foundation of human dignity.”

“We encourage them, in the face of the challenges of our time, to cultivate above all the spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship, for only constant and persevering work sets man free,” CEB members say.

In the statement issued at the end of their three-day meeting in the Diocese of Lokossa, the Catholic Church leaders advocate for a change in Benin’s education system, “to train more and more job creators rather than job seekers, in order to better meet the demands of our times.”

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They also urge parents and educators at various levels, “to pursue the necessary efforts, each according to his specific mission and charisma, to continue to offer our youth, the hope and future of our nation, all the support necessary to make them balanced men and women, artisans of peace and integral human development.”

CEB members renew calls for more efforts to improve the living conditions of the people of God in Benin, and invite political and administrative authorities “to study the possibility of reducing taxes on basic necessities, so that the most disadvantaged sections of the population can have access to them.”

The Catholic Bishops in Benin further recommend that particular attention be paid to “the rules and living conditions in our country's prisons, and that humanitarian benevolence be shown towards the prison population, so that standards of human dignity are better respected.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.