Sister Yusta Tesha | Zanzibar

“My wish for the women in the Catholic Church is first of all to become self-supporting in order to reduce dependency syndrome, which sometimes makes them prisoners. They should be able to have their own freedom and make decisions of what they want to do without braking the rule of their constitutions and rule of the Church as far as spiritual and materials are concerned. We should be able to sit at a round table and share the challenges we are facing in the course of working together in the mission of Christ. I am no longer staying silent about any abuse of any kind directed to the religious women because it has become a big challenge that needs a quick response and attention. Human rights should be observed and respected. Those who are directly abused should be helped to speak out without fear in order to get evidence and take a step. I’m sharing this because it will help many religious women to open up and share the different abuses that they experience. For example some religious have been abused by priests, especially those working in the parishes giving services as cooks or cleaners. Due to these different cases of being abused and sometimes beaten, many diocesan congregations have withdrawn their sisters from this kind of work in the parishes and have separated kitchens or employ a neutral person to give these services while the sisters engage in pastoral work and other social Ministries. It touches me deeply because I am working in society where there is a lot of abuse of children and women.”