AFRICA/CENTRAL AFRICA – Award given to the leaders of the "platform of Religious for Peace", including the Archbishop of Bangui

Thursday, 20 November 2014

Bangui (Agenzia Fides) - "It is an award given to people who in the midst of violence have managed to give another message, that of love, tolerance, social cohesion, of living together", said His Exc. Mgr. Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Archbishop of Bangui on his way back to the Central African Republic, commenting on the peace prize awarded by the US NGO Search For Common Ground to the leaders of the "platform of Religious for Peace": His Exc. Mgr. Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Oumar Kobine Layama, respectively Archbishop and Imam of Bangui, and Pastor Nicolas Grékoyamé-Gbangou, President of the Evangelical Churches.
The three religious leaders, who received the award on November 13, were part of five groups selected by the US NGO for their commitment to the promotion of peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims. The three religious leaders worked tirelessly to avoid that the civil war between the Central groups identified, sometimes arbitrarily, as "Muslims (former guerrilla Selaka) and "Christians (the "anti-Balaka" militias), would create a deep rift in the local society.
According to Mgr. Nzapalainga, those who gave the prize wanted to also highlight a path to other people who work in contexts of struggles and religious divisions: "different people observe the work we do. They see that it goes beyond passion and feelings. They thought we carry out a rational work that can be carried out anywhere by people who are motivated by the desire to build social cohesion". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 20/11/2014)


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