The Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese Most Reverend (Doctor) Stephen Dami mamza says the church must be a prophetic voice for social justice while advocating for the right and dignity of all people.

Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza stated this while declaring open the twenty twenty four General Assembly of the Catholic Diocese of Yola taking place at Saint Theresa Cathedral Jimeta.

The theme of this year general assembly is “Mobilizing pastoral agents for structural and human development in Yola Diocese”.

Bishop Dami Mamza stressed the need for the priests, religious and laity to reflect on their collective mission to serve not only the spiritual needs of their community but foster holistic development, spiritual, social and economic.

Bishop Mamza explained that the general assembly brought together priests, Reverend sisters, catechistso,  deacons laity to rub minds on issues that will move the church forward saying that it is his hope and prayer that at the end of the meeting they will come out with some  pastoral plan that will guide the Catholic Diocese of Yola for the next few years.

The Bishop, who described the role of pastoral agents in the Morden church as the lifeblood of the church mission, hands and feet of Christ jesus in reaching the diverse needs of the congregation and the larger society.

Bishop Mamza added that investing in training and professional development for pastoral agents is vital by equipping them with skills and knowledge in order to address the contemporary challenges to enable them served more effectively.

The Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese then identify human development as the heart of the Christian mission saying the church commitment to nurturing the whole person spiritually, emotionally, intellectual and physically is rooted in the teachings of Christ.

He further described education as a cornerstone of human development nothing that establishing and supporting schools helps  empower individuals with knowledge and skills that can transform their lives and communities.

The Catholic Bishop of yola Diocese then call on the participants to actively participate through out the meeting so as together they can build a church that not only nurture the spiritual well-being of its members but promotes justice, compassion and sustainable development in the society.

Earlier in his welcome address by the vicar general pastoral Reverend ftather Emmanuel Mathias said thirty nine parishes and pastoral heads of  Diocese societies under Catholic the Diocese of Yola are in attendance  at the general assembly.

He urged the participants to take ownership of the general assembly by active participation to enable them come up with strategic plans for the period of six years  that will support the development and process of the Bishop to the development of the church.

A facilitator at the general assembly, sir John Danboyi made his presentation on the processes and procedures of developing a strategic development plan,diocese core values, developing organisational assessment .

He said values are driving force for the operation of an organisation and criteria for an organisation strategies adding that the difficulties of strategic plan is the implementation.

Some of the participants interviewed, Mrs Josephine Odiniya and Mr Justine Madugu both described the general assembly as timely as it give them opportunity to discuss issues that will bring  more development and move the church forward.