Today, in Mozambique, the majority of Christians live in Small Christian Communities. Various charismas, services and ministries are present here, to animate the Christian life of the community members. For this, the specialized formation of the lay animators of the Small Christian Communities is at the center of attention and of the programs of missionary and pastoral action on the part of the Mozambican dioceses. To attempt an answer to this large challenge, all the work for the formation of pastoral agents in Mozambique, today, especially of the priests, is centered on their habilitation and preparation as good teachers and formers of leaders and lay animators for the Small Community. The Mozambican dioceses have three centers for the pastoral and catechesis, responsible for the laity’s qualifications for the various services and lay ministries within the Christian community. The formation of priests is a great worry for all the Mozambican dioceses, at the institutional and fundamental level of the seminaries (human, doctrinal, spiritual and pastoral formation), as well as in relationship to the permanent phase, during the first years right after ordination. The Mozambican seminaries today are crowded and the number of vocations grows every year. The Mozambican Episcopal Conference, in February of this year, separated the courses on philosophy from the ones in theology, originating two major seminaries. The formation given in the Mozambican seminaries, today, is oriented especially on the preparation of the priest, as educator and former of the people of God, through the example of life, multiplier of agents of evangelization, for the formation of leaders. The problem with the education of the Mozambican youth, for the local Church today, is that it is a challenge to the dynamic and difficult equilibrium between two extremes: either we abdicate our responsibilities/mission of educating man due to a lack of financial resources, or we accept the continue with this very expensive education acceptable only for the rich. The finalities of the entire work of evangelization and catechesis in Mozambique are the education and the formation to faith by the adult Christian, which means to put him in the condition of being able to translate and live faith in the living witness of charity, in the joy of hope, in the humble, generous and free service unto communion and for the unity for the grace and for peace in the Church and in society.

Original text in Portuguese

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