In his sermon last Sunday, 21 July, in the
Cathedral of Notre Dame in Bangui the Archbishop of Bangui, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, had clear words to say:
"I
can't remain silent while the sons of this country are the victims of the worst
kind of barbarism. I can't remain silent while Central Africans are being
tortured and killed, squashed like flies. I can't remain silent while our
mothers and sisters are being raped. I can't remain silent while the dignity of
the Central African is being trampled underfoot, while innocent people are
being robbed, while the just and well-earned fruit of our country is being
destroyed and looted as though we were in a house of cards. I can't remain
silent when impunity reigns and a dictatorship of arms is being set up."
At
the same time he forgave those who saw him as a "political opponent"
or "wrongly" ascribed to him "political ambitions and power
aspirations". He declared: "I am a shepherd, not a political fighter.
I dare to hope that one or other person will hear in my voice the Central
African people's cry of suffering."
The
Holy Mass was being held on the occasion of the first anniversary of his
episcopal consecration. On 26 June of this year, Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga received the pallium from Pope
Francis together with 33 other Archbishops from throughout the world. Last
Sunday was celebrated in the capital of the Central African Republic as
"Action of Mercy". At the same
time, services were held in many countries for peace in the Central African
Republic. This international day of prayer had been initiated by
the order of Carmelites in Italy, which maintains five missions in the Central
African Republic. The international Catholic pastoral charity "Aid to the
Church in Need" had also invited the faithful throughout the world to pray
on this day for the people of this country as it descended into violence and
chaos.
Editor’s Notes:
Directly under the
Holy Father, Aid to the Church in Need supports
the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need.
ACN is a Catholic charity - helping to bring Christ to the world through
prayer, information and action.
Founded in 1947 by Father Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul
II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity,” the organization is now at work
in over 145 countries throughout the world.
The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including
providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church
buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since
the initiative’s launch in 1979, 43 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed
worldwide.
For more information contact Michael Varenne at
michael@churchinneed.org or call
718-609-0939 or fax718-609-0938. Aid to the Church in Need, 725 Leonard Street,
PO Box 220384, Brooklyn, NY 11222-0384. www.churchinneed.org