NAIROBI OCTOBER 6, 2015 (CISA) – The Chancellor of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) Berhaneyesus Cardinal Souraphiel, has said that university graduations should help solve challenges faced by humanity.
“It is my hope that graduations such as this one shall go a long way to solve the challenges of humanity,” said Cardinal Souraphiel, Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on October 2, during CUEA’s 32nd graduation ceremony.
“The University should not aim at imparting knowledge for its sake but to aim at transforming the society. Therefore, graduands should be the salt and light of the world,” he added.
Cardinal Souraphiel who conferred the degrees and diplomas to the graduating candidates urged them “to share in the AMECEA vision of cooperation and unity of standing out as one family of God” even when embarking on the task of employment or further studies.
“The leadership skill you have received and the experience at CUEA should assist you to discover and appreciate the human face and diversity of others. Become good leaders to foster unity and overcome forces of negative ethnicity, poverty, war and environmental degradation,” he advised.
Cardinal Souraphiel further noted how different popes; St Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis have in their respective encyclicals tackled humanity problems such as the ever widening gap between the rich and poor and called on the graduands to do the same.
“The current encyclical by Pope Francis titledLaudato Si reminds us strongly to re-establish our relations with God, with one another, and the environment to avoid more destruction. It is high time that we addressed these issues before they put humanity in a permanent circus of misery,” he said.
Also present during the graduation was Mrs Angelina Wapakhabulo, the Ugandan High Commissioner to Kenya, CUEA’s Vice Chancellor Msgr. Dr Pius Rutechura and CUEA’s Council chairman and Bishop Maurice Muhatia of the Catholic diocese of Nakuru.
