Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) – “When the Pope placed the pallium on my shoulders I felt all the responsibility with which I have been charged”. This was how Archbishop Francisco Chimoio, OFM Cap., of Maputo in Mozambique, described his feelings on Sunday 29 June the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, when he received the symbol of his pastoral ministry from the hands of the Pope. And he added: “Thank God that it is precisely when we realise our limits that the Lord allows us to feel his presence in our lives”.
The white stole of wool decorated with little black crosses is conferred on new Metropolitan Archbishops as a sign of their ministry as shepherds of a large flock and also their communion with the See of Peter. This year the Pope gave the pallium to 42 new archbishops. Fides Service took the opportunity to speak with a few of them, one being Archbishop Chimoio.
“Eleven years ago Mozambique saw the end of 25 years of civil war and one of the challenges for the Church’s activity is to help people overcome the culture of violence left by the war” Mgr Chimoio tells Fides Service. “Thankfully there is no deep lying hatred among the people but the problem is that many former soldiers, used to earning their living by fighting, have turned into bandits and they harass the people. In this context the Church continues her work of evangelisation and human promotion, aware that hearts and minds cannot be changed immediately but only with patience and time.”
Another problem facing Mozambique is severe drought which has affected vast areas of the country for several months. In this regard the Archbishop explained that “besides dealing with the emergency, measures must be taken to avoid similar disasters in the future. Mozambique is a fertile land with abundant water; the problem is that it lacks an efficient water distribution network. Unfortunately we do not have the money to create the necessary infrastructures, wells, canals, dams etc.”
“As a result of this difficult situation – says the Archbishop of Maputo – rural areas are being emptied of people and cities are being filled with rural people, most of whom go to join the number of unemployed. Some of these people could work in the fields, on the condition that they are given proper assistance: such as water, schools, hospitals, loans” The archdiocese of Maputo has a population of 3,859,000 of whom 464,000 are Catholics. LM (Fides Service 1/7/2003 EM lines 36 Words: 424)
