AFRICA/IVORY COAST - In Saint Laurent parish of Yopougon Kouté, a committee on social cohesion, for peaceful elections

Wednesday, 30 September 2020 elections peace local churches

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Abidjan (Agenzia Fides) - "After the unfortunate experiences of the past in 2010 and especially the recent events after the speech of the President of the Republic on August 6th, the Catholic parish has decided to set up a committee to encourage peaceful attitudes among parishioners strengthens social cohesion", says Aké Mel Christiano, general secretary of the social cohesion committee of Saint Laurent de Yopougon Kouté parish.
"The task of this committee is simple: to think about social cohesion. To discuss how to get believers to change their mentalities, attitudes and behaviors during the electoral period". To this end, the committee organized a public conference on "Social cohesion during the electoral period - The Christian and Politics".
Bishop Jean Salomon Lézoutié of Yopougon moderated the conference, which was attended by a large number of parishioners. "We must not believe that politics is limited to the electoral period", said Bishop Lézoutié, "because politics must be understood as a daily awareness of the problems of our time and that affect the moral, family side, overcoming the problem of corruption. The issue of corruption or elections must worry us at all times. So fighting for justice does not mean just doing it during elections".
Referring to the Bible, Archbishop Lézoutié invited Christians to take an interest in politics every day through their own actions and to counter the evils that hit society.
Other similar initiatives are planned in the coming days. Among other things, an awareness campaign in the basic church communities in order to create a climate of peace and cohesion among neighbors and families. In addition, a training course for pastors in the Saint Laurent parish on "Understanding social cohesion to better combat violence before, during and after the elections" is planned for October 4th. (S.S.) (Agenzia Fides, 30/9/2020)