AFRICA/SOUTH AFRICA - Kenya, Chad, and Mozambique: African Bishops mourn the loss of human lives

Johannesburg (Agenzia Fides) - The permanent committee for the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM/SCEAM) that met February 8-9 in Johannesburg, South Africa (see Fides 5/2/2008 and 15/2/2008), expressed their solidarity with the Church and with the people of Chad, Kenya, and Mozambique, who are suffering, respectively, from civil war, grave political crisis, and floods that have destroyed a good deal of their crops.
In the messages that have been sent, Cardinal John Njue, Archbishop of Nairobi and President of the Kenyan Bishops’ Conference, together with Bishop Jean-Claude Bouchard, Bishop of Pale and President of the Episcopal Conference of Chad and of the permanent committee for SECAM express their “sadness in light of the political events that have lead to violence and to the loss of many human lives, especially children, women, vulnerable people, and even a priest. Our hope and our prayer is that the Lord may intercede to bring peace, justice, healthy government, and respect for human life back to our beloved country and to the African continent in general.”
In a message sent to Archbishop Jaime Pedro Goncalvez, Archbishop of Beira and President of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique, they mourned for the fact that “certain people have been forced to abandon their homes and for the loss of human lives.” (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 18/2/2008 righe 18, parole 216)