As part of the activities for the 21st Biennial Pan-African Association of Catholic Exegetes (PACE) opening ceremony on Monday 9th Septemeber at the Christ the King Catholic Church in Accra, a panel discussion was organized for children.
The discussion revolved around the theme “The Bible and the African Child in the Post-Pandemic Age,” providing a platform for the youth to showcase their biblical knowledge and discuss how to overcome challenges in the digital age.
Speaking on some of these challenges, Melinao Regina Azanku from St. Thomas Aquinas Parish highlighted peer pressure as a significant issue, particularly when young people feel left out for not keeping up with modern trends.
“Right now, all my friends have phones, and I don’t have one. When I try to convince my mother to buy me one, she says no because they can expose me to dangers from the internet,” Melinao shared.
Anne Adu Nsia, also from St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, pointed out a lack of discipline as another major challenge among the youth, especially when it comes to staying focused on spiritual activities like studying the Bible.
“There was this one time I was reading the Bible, and I got a notification from YouTube. I left the Bible and went to use my phone. I never came back to the Bible,” she admitted.
Nutifafa Agosor from Mary Mother of Good Counsel Parish added that some young people struggle with teamwork and collaboration, often preferring to take control rather than work as part of a team.
“When it comes to working with people, I always want to be the leader of the team. I look forward to changing that,” Nutifafa remarked.
The panellists also discussed biblical solutions to these challenges. Melinao mentioned that the book of Exodus can serve as a guide to overcoming peer pressure. Nutifafa and Anne emphasised the importance of following Jesus’ example to cultivate humility and discipline.
Addressing how society can support the youth, Anne suggested that churches should promote more interactive activities to engage young people.
“Children nowadays like a lot of fun, interactive, engaging activities. I would like them to push for more games, more quizzes, and also encourage peer teaching,” Anne proposed.
Melinao also stressed the importance of parents providing explanations for their decisions, helping children understand their choices and resist negative external influences.
“So that when external influences like, for example, the LGBTQ try to influence us into doing wrong stuff, we will know why we shouldn’t do what they are telling us to do,” she noted.
Established in the early 1980s, the Pan-African Association of Catholic Exegetes (PACE) is a long-standing organisation of biblical scholars that hosts biennial residential conferences for Catholic scholars from across Africa.
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