At the service of the Church in Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast

Every five years, the bishops of the various Episcopal Conference make their Ad limina visits to meet the Holy Father. On this occasion, they also meet with the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia to dialogue and listen to each other on the issues that are of most interest at their local Church. During their quinquennial visit, the bishops of the Bishops Conferences of Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast also visited the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.

Zimbabwe: the challenge of a renewed family pastoral care

On September 7 2023, a group of bishops from Zimbabwe met with superiors of the Dicastery where they exchanged experiences, projects and initiatives related to the issues that the Dicastery deals with. They discussed the big challenges of raising awareness of the pastoral care of family, the accompaniment of families, due to migration, as well as the care of the youngest, disoriented by the effects of the pandemic (loneliness, emotional closure).

Communion and autonomy: co-responsibility and growth in Ivory Coast

The bishops of Ivory Coast, on the other hand, visited the Dicastery on September 18, 2023. The Church in Ivory Coast had developed its 2019-2023 pastoral plan on the theme “Communion and Autonomy” to achieve two objectives:  to be a Church where everyone feels co-responsibility - laity, and pastors -, and to become an autonomous  Church to finance ecclesial, pastoral and social works (schools, hospitals…). The local Church also bears witness to a growing fervor among people of God, with a conversion of hearts that inspire as more lively witness to the Gospel.