|
Jaime Pedro Gon�alves
Catholic Archbishop, Mozambique
The theme I will develop in these speech is linked to the title of this round table �Religions in Africa� and to the search for peace in these international meetings of the world religions. I would like to thank the Community of Sant�Egidio for the friendly invitation to me, for being here in Germany to participate in this meeting. The Catholic Church is one of the biggest religions professed today in Africa. Since the time of apostles, I and II century, the Christians reached and developed in Egypt and in the north of Africa. In the XV and XVI centuries went to the South of Sahara. One Ethiopian was baptized at the disciples� time. Nowadays the Catholics are about 135.66.000, with 616 bishops and 45.000 priests. Despite the Gospel and all the Holy Scripture announce and invite to announce peace, we can point out periods of major engagement in the Catholic Church about peace and reconciliation in our continent in modern times. African bishops gathered with the Holy Father John Paul the II to celebrate a special assembly during the Synod of bishops in April 1994. In the post-Synod exhortation the African Church, at the point 105, affirms � The Church God�s family in Africa must testify Christ, even trough the promotion of justice and peace in the continent and all over the world.� The Church must be the voice of the voiceless. The document talks about several problems regarding justice, peace in Africa, as the state of right, the economic life the dignity and the rights of human being, dictatorships and armed conflicts, refugees, wasting of richness in Africa, the public administration�s corruption. To realize our engagement to build the Reign of Justice and Peace, of love and of forgiveness in Africa all the Church is called: bishops, priests, deacons, seminarists, members of the consecrated life institute and of the apostolic life society, catechists, and everyone who makes the service to brothers his own existence�s ideal. Let us not discourage in this big work for the welfare of Africa. Everyone should be able to rely on the collaboration of brothers and other Christians confessions. Believers of other monotheist religions, specially those from African traditional religion and of all men and women of good will who look for spiritual and material progress of Africa (EIA, n7). The Africa Synod program was immediately undertaken by the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar and of their pastoral regions. Soon after the plenary assembly occurred in Rome during the Holy Year 2000, the symposium published two very important documents for building peace: the first is the pastoral letter entitled: Christ our peace: Church family of God, place and sacrament of reconciliation, of forgiveness and of peace in Africa. After a careful analysis of the social-economic and politic situation, the concrete lines of the pastoral of justice and peace are drawn. The other document regards the message from the same assembly in Rome, of which I will cite some passages that show how much they care for peace in the African continent: Despite this efforts, many aberrations sadly exits which are such discouraging and terrible for the life of citizens and believers, that are a condemnation because they constitute the negation of the essence of the Reign of God. We condemn these numerous acts of injustice, exploitation and violence that implacably continue to hurt the human being created on God�s image. Hostilities and conflicts among the clans, villages, communities, ethnical groups, nations and religions reached a horrible dimension in all Africa. The fact that these evils do not constitutes a novelty in Africa, the work of the Church becomes even more difficult and urgent. We shall deplore in clear terms the thirst of power and the madness of some African leaders in countries like Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the region of the big lakes, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Sudan, Eritrea and many parts of Africa, where they caused and continue to cause misery to millions of persons of our people. We condemn the actions of guerilla of groups of rebellious that constantly fight against the government, killing people and committing wicked atrocities. We deplore there authoritarians and oppressing regimens which negate to their citizens the personal freedom and the fundamental human rights, specially the freedom of associating end of politic expression, like the choose of the government through free honest and peaceful elections. These injustices provoke tensions, which sometimes decay in conflicts and internal wars, with ruinous consequences, with hunger, epidemics and disruption, not to talk about the scandal of massacres and of the tragedy of refugees. (Message of the 12th planarian assembly, n 5 and 6). The bishops of the 10 pastoral regions took the same effort to intervene in the towns of the region. The national Episcopal conferences are another force of the Church and they operate and work, according to the circumstances, to the construction of peace, reconciliation, forgiveness and restoration of citizens� freedom. There are bishops that offer themselves as mediators for the resolution of armed or social conflicts. In several countries these interventions are made together with the collaboration of other religions. The Christian charity leads the bishops to put their lives or their freedom at risk. In Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo the Episcopal conferences are involved in the reconciliation process and they loose among the people. In the Democratic Republic of Congo we have � a man of God and of men�, Mons. Momsengwo. For many years he dedicated himself to the reconciliation in the region of the big lakes. Ethiopian and Eritrea bishops are looking for the end of the war and for an approaching reconciliation. In Zimbabwe we have the bishop Matume. He is a mediator in the difficult dialogue between the government and the opposition to relieve the people from sufferings caused by the economic crisis. So it is in Swaziland, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, Guinea Bissau, Sudan, Kenya, and Zambia. So it was in South Africa against apartheid, in Mozambique against the civil war, in Namibia for the independence, in Malawi against the dictatorship of the long life president. Nowadays in Africa the consciousness that the church has to be expert in the resolution of armed conflicts grows. We need to intensify this by teaching the civil consciousness to the citizens. Despite a lot of errors in the politic and economic life of the continent, someone believes in the rebirth of Africa. African leaders want to face the globalization united. They want to undertake the enterprise of the development of our peoples. They are ready to use the richness of Africa for Africa. It is very recent the conviction that the continent cannot progress if it welcomes armed conflicts in its territory. Both the politic program (African democracy) and the economic one have to adapt to the different regional contests. It is a good thing that the Church gives its contribute for the Africa union. The SCEAM must continue to look for his role in the UA to animate the commission of the resolution of armed conflicts. We need to try to ensure the future to our regions. We need to look for the development of civil societies of the African Union. We have to engage more the lays who are prepared in the education of people and in the defense of human rights. We need to encourage the African youth to believe in a better and prosper Africa. It will be the fruit of their own work and of our own dedication for Africa. I cannot conclude my speech without mention the role of the Community of Sant�Egidio in the promotion of peace, reconciliation and forgiveness. Well experienced through the peace talking for Mozambique the Community was invited to intervene in many situations in Africa. It participates to the reconciliation process in Burundi and an intervention was requested for Angola, Algeria, Uganda and many other places it is not convenient to talk about. Its members multiplied in several African countries, they disseminate the service for peace and for charity with big strength. Finally The Community is working for the fight against AIDS in Mozambique that is a way to consolidate peace.
|