Hopes and fears

 

Fiori in forest
Fleurs en foret

Hopes and fears

 

We are all experiencing, despite the distances and difficulties of connection, historic moments such as the election of the new pope, which begins soon.

And at the same time Central Africa is shaken once again by fear and violence, especially in our diocese, in Zemio and throughout the East.

But let's go in order!

Even in Central Africa, despite the distance and difficulties of connections, the choice of the successor of Peter is being followed very closely.

This is a first for many people: the population is very young (more than 50 percent of the people are under 18 years old), and therefore they have few memories of previous popes, also aided by the lack of newspapers, television and radio.

In recent weeks I have begun to administer Confirmations. And I take the opportunity to talk about the election of the new pope: it is clear for all to see that it is not an ordinary election (complete with corruption, choices and strategies, as often happens in Central Africa) but an action of the Holy Spirit. Plus, this time, it is easy to explain who the cardinals are, because among them is Card Dieudonné Nzapalainga, a Central African, born right in Bangassou!

The fact that the media are not very accessible helps us not to get too lost in the chatter and various opinions. And with the whole Church we are praying hard for the new Pope to be the person the Holy Spirit has raised up to confirm us in the faith.

On Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4, I was in Mbalazime, a village 15 km from Bangassou, where I prepared and then celebrated the confirmations of 70 young people from four villages in the area.

For the past few days the east of the diocese has been shaken, once again, by violence and fear.

Some rebels from the Azande Anikpibe group that the army and the Russians wanted to disarm, attacked the military and killed 5 soldiers. And the reaction is very strong. For the past few days reinforcements, and means (helicopters, drones, troops) have arrived, and people are panicking. In Zemio there are more than 3,500 people sheltered at the Mission, and in Mboki the population has regrouped in the church, which we had just reconsecrated!

The situation is very tense, and the fear is that innocent civilians will be arrested, injured and killed.

At the root of the rebellion, there are serious reasons: the region is almost abandoned by the state: there are no roads, very few teachers, almost no hospitals. And the prices of basic necessities are 2 to 3 times those in the capital.

And we pray and hope that the government will think hard about the causes that led to the rebellion, and decide, for once, to intervene not so much with force, but with development!

La cattedrale di Bangassou
La cathédrale de Bangassou

 

Mbalazime