Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Freetown (Agenzia Fides) – “For the majority of the inhabitants of Sierra Leone, they barely make it to the end of the year. The world agriculture crisis and continual rise of fuel prices has got the nation on its knees, affecting the poorest, most and these are the majority in Sierra Leone,” Xaverian Missionary Fr. Gerardo Caglioni told Agenzia Fides in a statement he sent with some considerations on the prospects of the African country. Fr. Caglioni has also authored several in-depth studies on the history of Sierra Leon, where he has spent many years of his life.
“The hopes that had arisen with the election of the new President Ernest Bai Koroma have all shattered, as they had been promised a new era and a change in all that was not going well. He won a significant victory, one that was rich in expectations. Back then, he spoke of a hope that could not and would not be shattered.
The months have passed and things have not changed at all. Moreover, with the present world situation, the things are getting worse all the time and the people, who last year could reach the end of the year somehow or other, no longer make it. The situation is worse than before. Neville, the President of the Association of Journalists in Sierra Leone, a few days ago spoke out, saying: ‘Crime is spreading on all sides, the city is filthy, and the prices are too high. We want the Government to get moving for the sake of all of us.”
And I ask myself, what can this government do (or any other government in its shoes) to change the situation that is so disastrous, in a country where corruption rules and shrewdness (not justice) is the rule of all. Is it possible to change the situation that instead of improving with time, is constantly getting worse?
Facing these heart-rending questions and observing the present situation that doesn’t seem to have a short-term resolution, I ask myself what can be done for Sierra Leone.
Then I look with hope to the young Church of Sierra Leone and the role that it can play in developing a new conscience and, therefore, a new life in the country. Accepting the fact that no short-term resolution is possible, that the solution to so many problems cannot be found just around the corner, and that there is a need to involve every level of society in producing an effective change, I think that the role of the Church in Sierra Leone is that of forming consciences, of spreading awareness, of preparing new leaders, so that tomorrow can see a better life and a new Sierra Leone can emerge.
Perhaps the Church can only do very little materially, in influencing public life in Sierra Leone, but it can certainly offer a moral wealth (Paul VI told the United Nations that the Church is an expert in humanity) that it can transmit to these people that has been tried by history and adverse political conditions that have placed it in the last place, developmentally speaking, among the nations of the world.
Perhaps it is a long process and not always recognized, but it is one that the new Archbishop Edward Tamba Charles of Freetown and Bo (who was installed May 14) and his collaborators can certainly offer Sierra Leone, for a better and calmer future for the inhabitants of this country.
Alongside the young local Church, there is also a need for Christian brothers of underdeveloped countries. We should place ourselves at their side and accompany them on this difficult path they are on, until they can walk on their own strengths. We cannot abandon them. We should support them because they are in need. This is what we read in Scripture, in the Acts of the Apostles.” (LM) (Agenzia Fides 11/6/2008)
