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Youth Attending 2023 World Youth Day from Burkina Faso Urged to Return Fearless

Young people to respresent Burkina Faso during the 2023 World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, Portugal. Credit: Fr. Valéry Sakougri

Burkina Faso needs fearless Christians, those who are ready to bear witness to their faith without fear of intimidation, young Burkinabe who are to participate in the 2023 World Youth Day (WYD) in person in Lisbon, Portugal, have been told.

In his Homily on Sunday, June 25 at St. Joseph Catholic Parish Pabré of the Archdiocese of Ouagadougou, Fr. Valéry Sakougri, Burkina Faso’s National Youth Chaplain, said that the young people’s experience in Lisbon, Portugal, should make way for “fighting Christians”, for young people ready to commit themselves to the service of the Church.

“It's time for each and every one of you, dear young people, to get out of your torpor, out of your current situation, and into an unknown future of certain achievements, towards which God himself is accompanying you. The time of the Christians who like the easy way out, of young Christians tired before their time, of young retirees at the age of 22, 25, 30… must come to an end with the WYD that you are going to experience, in our Church, in our country,” Fr. Sakougri said.

He added, “These types of young people, of Christians, must disappear to make way for fighting Christians, for young people who commit themselves, who give themselves to the service of the Church and their brother, for young people who know how to undertake, who dare, who risk. That's what's expected of you after the WYD.”

The June 25 Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Parish Pabré was organized for the 47 young people preparing to be part of the August 1-6 WYD in Lisbon. From the Archdiocese of Ouagadougou alone, 30 youth are attending the global event.

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Making reference to the readings of the Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Fr. Sakougri said that the success of Christianity in Burkina Faso, a country listed among those worst affected by Christian persecution, depends on the young people’s ability to conquer fear.

“Our Church, the Church of Burkina Faso, needs young people and Christians who are protagonists, young people with tenure, not young people who sit in the pews waiting for a replacement,” Fr. Sakougri said.

He added, “The success of our Christian life depends 90 percent on ourselves. So, we need a good dose of self-confidence, willpower and hard work to succeed. The man of integrity, the Burkinbila, the true Christian is the one who fights, who takes his life seriously, faces up to life's challenges and overcomes the various kinds of fear, notably the fear of men, the fear of death and the fear of bearing witness, of which Jesus speaks in the Gospel.”

The member of the Clergy of the Archdiocese of Ouagadougou cautioned the young Burkinabe against fear, recalling the message of Pope Francis during the 2016 WYD, saying, “When fear burrows into closure, it is always accompanied by its twin sister, paralysis.”

The youth chaplain described fear paralysis as one of the worst evils that can affect Christians, especially young people. 

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He said, “Dear young people, don't let fear and paralysis get you down. Take charge of your life and your faith, and let go of the various fears that take away your dynamism.”

“Fear makes you lose all desire to grow, to dream, to create, to look to the future, in short, to live. So, you have to let go of all kinds of fear if you want to live,” the Burkinabe Catholic Priest said.

Fear also sometimes leads to laziness, he said, and added in caution, “Dear young people, we must also avoid laziness, ease, shortcuts and comfort in life.”

Fr. Sakougri encouraged the youth in Burkina Faso “not be afraid of those who kill the body” in reference to the Sunday, June 25 Gospel reading from St. Matthew.

“Let's remember our brothers who died in the Sahel while praying. He calls us not to accept compromises, corruptions, bad consents,” he said, and admonished the youth against sacrificing their faith for practices that go against their Christian faith.

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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.