Johannesburg, 20 February, 2022 / 8:30 pm (ACI Africa).
An envisaged Catholic Parish health apostolate aims to raise awareness about mental issues, an official of the entity behind the initiative has said.
In a recent interview with ACI Africa, the skills development Coordinator of the Catholic Health Care Association of Southern Africa (CATHCA) said that through the envisaged Catholic Parish initiative, stigma and discrimination against those living with mental illness will be reduced and the people of God will be equipped with the necessary tools to address the “lack of understanding” about mental illness.
“There is lack of understanding, which leads to fear, to stigmatization and discrimination towards people living with health illness,” Dr. Shula Melese told ACI Africa during the February 17 interview.
Dr. Melese added, “The objective of the ministry is to increase awareness of mental health issues, reduce stigma and discrimination against those living with mental illness, to provide spiritual accompaniment and support for people living with mental illness, and to welcome people with mental illness into the sacramental and communal life of the Church.”
To realize the objectives of the initiative, he said, facilitators will be involved in “training and mentoring the Mental Health Ministry parish teams in areas of mental health self-care and psycho-social support through spiritual and pastoral guidance.”
