Catholic Bishop in Tanzania Concerned as Some Candidates Admitted to Major Seminarians “without basic Catechism”

“The challenge is that we do not have many Minor Seminaries in Tanzania, and most of the candidates come from public schools,” Bishop Masondole said. 

The July 19 event is the latest in the series of digital palavers that theologians and other experts in Africa have organized to deepen the understanding of the Synthesis Report that came out of the October 2023 session of the multi-year Synod on Synodality. 

About 200 people participated in the event that was held on the theme, “The revision of the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis in a missionary synodal perspective” based on December 2015 document of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy translated as “The Gift of the Priestly Vocation”.

Participants at the event explored present-day Seminary formation in Africa, and discussed what is working as well as what seems not to be working based on experiences from different parts of the continent. 

In his presentation, Bishop Masondole proposed that the Church in Africa gives special attention to the formation in families and in the Small Christian Communities (SCCs), saying, “The family is the first place where faith is imparted. The family is the first place of living, of loving, and of faith.”

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The Tanzanian Catholic Bishop, who has been at the helm of Bunda Diocese since his Episcopal Consecration in July 2021 further suggested that formation of Catechists be scaled up for them to teach religion in schools.

“We Bishops and Priests should be part of this learning process in primary schools and in secondary schools,” he said, adding that the Tanzania Episcopal Conference had, in one of their recent meetings, agreed that Bishops should take up teaching in primary and secondary schools in the country.

Bishop Masondole also challenged Seminaries in Tanzania to be thorough in their admission processes, paying special attention to the candidates’ motivations in joining Priestly formation.

“Special effort during formation here should discern the real motivations of the candidates who seek to join Priestly formation. The candidates must say if it is for social status that they are seeking to become Priests. Do they want to become priests just to make their parents happy? To experience prestige because they will have a car?” he posed, adding, “There should be a big problem if the candidates are driven by these motivations.”

The Tanzanian Catholic Bishop also decried what he described as “uncontrolled” and "unauthorized” use of social media in formation houses, saying that the behaviour is leading to “antisocial tendencies” among Seminarians.

According to the Bishop, many candidates have access to smartphones and social media for the first time when they start formation.

“Unauthorized and uncontrolled exposure to social media has become a real challenge in our formation houses. Betting, pornography are real challenges in our Seminaries. Seminaries chat with their contacts on social media the entire night,” Bishop Masondole lamented. 

“There is an increase in individual and antisocial tendencies in formation houses, as well as the lack of connection with their real brothers, thanks to the social media and smartphones,” he said.

According to the Tanzanian Catholic Church leader, “We must put a lot of effort in ensuring that our young ones in formation use technology with maturity. This formation must start in families and in parishes.”

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.