Beira – “We are following with deep concern the situation of terrorism raging our country, with its epicenter in Cabo Delgado since 5 October 2017, which, according to published statistics, has already caused 6,527 deaths and over 1 million internally displaced persons, leaving vast areas in ruins.” The statement comes from the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique , Osório Citora Afonso, IMC, and is expressed in a Pastoral Note shared by the country’s bishops and sent to Fides News Agency.
Osório Citora Afonso himself, Bishop of Quelimane and Apostolic Administrator of Beira, speaking to Fides Agency whilst returning from Beira to Quelimane, confirmed that he had felt the urgency to convene the Bishops of the CEM in an online meeting to unite their voices in condemning the attacks against Christian communities and in solidarity with the province of Cabo Delgado.
“In the statement, first and foremost, we expressed ‘our profound solidarity with the Diocese of Pemba, its pastors, men and women religious, pastoral workers and all the Christian faithful who continue to suffer the painful consequences of the violence and attacks directed against individuals, communities and places of worship’, as stated in the Pastoral Note of the Bishops signed by the President of the CEM, Inacio Saure, IMC, Archbishop of Nampula. We also ‘strongly condemned every form of violent extremism and manipulation of the population, particularly young people, adolescents and children, in the name of religious or economic interests, ambitions for power and the exploitation of natural resources. No religious belief, nor the riches of the earth, are worth more than human life. None of these interests can justify displacement, suffering, the death of innocents, the destruction of communities and the desecration of sacred places’.
Equally strong – emphasizes Bishop Osório Citora Afonso – was the appeal addressed to the Government, which has ‘remained silent all this time’. “We recall that it is the Government’s fundamental duty to guarantee human dignity, security and the well-being of all,” the bishops stress, “by protecting life and the national heritage, aspects that are seriously threatened in Cabo Delgado, with clear signs of the situation spreading to the rest of the country .
“We call on the country’s relevant authorities to take a courageous decision to put an immediate end to religious intolerance, which today manifests itself in the form of hatred towards Christians, thereby opening the door to setting a precedent for other dangerous forms of radicalism.”
According to the latest report by the organization Armed Conflict Location & Event Data , covering the period from 6 to 27 April, of the 2,356 incidents of violence recorded since October 2017, when the armed insurgency began in Cabo Delgado, 2,184 involved elements associated with the Islamic State of Mozambique . Following the destruction of the parish headquarters in Meza at the end of last April , further acts of destruction took place on 1, 5, 8 and 9 May in the villages of Minheune, Nacoja and Naviane, respectively, belonging to the parish of Metoro. Faced with this situation, the Bishops have spoken out on behalf of the voiceless.
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