Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Dakar (Fides Service)- In Dakar, in the news for the international car rally, signs of religious intolerance were immediately quashed by the majority of people. “Newspapers and political and religious leaders, Muslims and Christians, firmly condemned threats addressed to Archbishop Theodore Adrien Sarr” local Church sources told Fides. In early December the Archbishop received letters threatening him and the other Catholic Bishops of Senegal signed by a mysterious “steel youth group ”
“The position assumed by the local Church was prudent ” local sources told Fides. “If on the one hand they did not undervalue the episode, on the other they adopted an attitude of serenity and confidence in the authorities. It is enough to see how the news was communicated. In fact Archbishop Sarr confirmed that he had received threats but without revealing the contents of the letter. And presumed parts of the letters published by certain newspapers were never officially confirmed by the local church authorities ”.
Unanimous condemnation was authoritatively voiced by President Abdoulaye Wade who said in a televised message that the episode was totally unacceptable. The President recalled that Senegal is a country where religions have always co-existed peacefully and he made a personal commitment to defend the right of every citizen to profess their own faith and spread their own ideas. “This is an important message and it comes immediately after the January 9 meeting between President Wade and Cardinal Hyacinthe Thiandoum, emeritus Archbishop of Dakar” say Fides sources, adding “the President said clearly that the Bishops have a right to speak openly with regard to the country’s social and political life. He was clearly addressing those who threatened the Bishops for criticising the situation of justice in Senegal”. The letters in fact make explicit reference to the position assumed by the Bishops in a statement issued on 30 November in which they called on all Senegalese to respect the common good. “In that statement the Bishops said justice was a problem in the country and that government should think of the common good rather than personal or party interests ” local sources said.
“It is interesting to note that days earlier, at the end of Ramadan, leading Muslim figures expressed the same if not more explicit criticism of the government But they were not threatened. Muslims are asking why the Bishops were threatened and not the Muslim leaders who took an even harsher position towards the government” the sources said.
“The situation however remains calm and it is to be hoped that the threats will remain an isolated episode. The letters were posted in Thies where there were riots during the last presidential elections. Perhaps the author was some over excited soul”. (L.M.) (Fides Service 12/1/2004, lines 41 words 533)
