Aboard the papal plane, 31 July, 2025 / 4:51 pm (ACI Africa).
The President of the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers (CMHM) has expressed concern about the rising mental health challenges across the globe including in African countries.
In an interview with ACI Africa on the sidelines of the 20th Plenary Assembly of members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, Permanent Deacon Ed Shoener observed that cases of suicide and other mental health challenges, especially among the youth, are on the rise.
The President of the Lay Association whose members are called to be a healing presence in the lives of people with mental illness and their families emphasized the Church’s growing role in providing spiritual and psychological support in Africa.
Permanent Deacon Ed Shoener, President of the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers (CMHM). Credit: ACI Africa
“There are a number of countries that are embracing this new ministry in the church. Mental health problems in Africa are increasing, like everywhere else in the world,” Deacon Shoener told ACI Africa on Thursday, July 31.
He added, “Suicides are on the rise, mental health challenges for the youth are on the rise, and this cries out for the love of Jesus Christ in the presence of his church.”
“It’s so good to see the Bishops and other leaders and lay people in Africa embracing and seeing the need for this ministry,” the CMHM President, who has visited several African countries in recent weeks, told ACI Africa.
Credit: ACI Africa
CMHM, which began in the United States, now operates in over 73 countries.
“It is a global ministry at this stage. It’s a ministry of the time. In 2025 I think we all realize mental health needs to be taken care of, and we need to take care of our spiritual life too as we take care of our mental health,” he said.
