Launched Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year “opportunity to renew bonds of faith”: Catholic Bishop in Angola

“We also marked the opening of our land’s jubilee year, celebrating 50 years of independence,” he said, and continued, “In this jubilee time, we are called to reflect on our families, our faith, and our community life.” 

The Holy Father announced the start of a Year of Prayer on 21 January 2024 in preparation for the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, the second in his Pontificate after the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015.

He said that the 2025 Jubilee Year will be “a year dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in one’s personal life, in the life of the Church, and in the world.”

Months later, on the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ on 9 May 2024, the Holy Father solemnly proclaimed the upcoming Jubilee Year 2025 at a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica, during which he delivered the Bull of Indiction of the planned Jubilee, “Spes non confundit” (Hope does not disappoint).

The Jubilee Year provides the people of God across the globe an opportunity to participate in various planned jubilee events at the Vatican and in their respective Episcopal Sees and Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL).

On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launched the Jubilee Year during which he opened the holy door of St. Peter's Basilica of Rome.

In his December 29 homily, Bishop Camuto described the opening of the Holy Door that marks the launching of the Jubilee Year as “a time of grace” and implored, “As we pass through the Holy Door, we seek to experience God’s forgiveness and renew our commitment to Him.”

“Each step we take in this Jubilee Year invites us to draw closer to God and His Church, reflecting on our attitudes and striving for holiness,” he said.

The 2025 Jubilee Year provides an opportunity to strengthen faith in families, he said, and continued, “In this jubilee time, we are invited to reflect on our families, the human structure that the Church defines as a divine and loving community, a community founded on the marriage of a man and a woman.”

In his homily on December 29, the Feast Day of the Holy Family of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, Bishop Camuto went on to invite the people of God to look to the Holy Family of Nazareth as a “model for all Christian families.”

He lamented the challenge of realizing conversations among family members, amid digitality, saying, “This space is increasingly being eroded by television and social media.”

“Is there still room for dialogue in families today? We know that television and social media take away the space for dialogue. We visit families where the son is seated in one place, the daughter in another, all on their phones, engrossed in television and social media,” the Catholic Church leader lamented.

To counter this challenge, Bishop Camuto called upon the people of God to welcome Jesus into their homes. “We are called to welcome Jesus, making Him our guest, someone familiar, a constant and permanent presence in our homes.”

He also underscored the importance of making the family a “domestic church” and explained, “If we can listen to His Word together, then the family becomes a domestic church where everyone values and respects each other in the love of Christ.”

The Angolan Catholic Bishop, who turned 61 on December 26, advocated for religious education of children. He said, “Parents should take responsibility for the religious formation of their children for the Church and society.” 

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In families, where religious formation of children is fostered, he said, “God becomes a priority. And where God is a priority, peace and love reign. In that family, no one is a stranger; no one is left behind; everyone cares for each other.”

The Angolan Spiritan Bishop also emphasized the importance of formal education, faulting the lack of preparedness and dedication among a section of teachers in Angola. 

These weaknesses, he said, are not solely due to a lack of resources but also the disinterest and lack of commitment from many educators.

“Today, we have children as old as 12 who cannot read, even after completing the fifth, sixth, or seventh grade. This is a red card for teachers,” Bishop Camuto said.

He called for re-examination on the shared responsibility of parents and teachers in the academic, moral, and religious formation of children and youth. “Our society is paying a high price for this. We have young people leaving school without the basic skills needed to face life,” Bishop Camuto said in his December 29 homily.