MOZAMBIQUE: Bishop welcomes Pope’s concern as terror escalates
A bishop in Mozambique has welcomed Pope Leo’s concern and call for prayer as jihadists ramp up their campaign of terror in the country.
Bishop António Juliasse of Pemba strongly supported the pontiff’s message, given during the Angelus on Sunday (24th August), that “no wars deserve to be forgotten”.
The bishop, who oversees the conflict-ridden northern region of Cabo Delgado, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), that the Pope’s words were a source of solace for those affected by the Islamist insurgency.
He said: “Pope Leo XIV’s message during the Angelus, which was addressed to the whole world, is, above all, an act of great closeness to the people of Cabo Delgado, who are suffering horribly from a war which began in 2017, and which continues to destroy lives, infrastructure and goods, and limits any possibility of development.”
The conflict in Cabo Delgado, which started in October 2017 with attacks carried out by jihadists linked to Daesh (ISIS), has grown in intensity over the past months.
A wave of attacks at the end of July and August caused at least 60,000 to flee, adding to around one million internally displaced people (IDPs) who have been forced from their homes in the past eight years.
The fighting has also caused more than 6,000 deaths.
In his address following the Angelus in the Vatican’s St Peter’s Square, Pope Leo said: “I express my closeness to the people of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, who have become victims of an unsecure and violent situation that continues to cause death and displacement.
“In asking you not to forget these brothers and sisters of ours, I invite you to pray for them, and I express my hope that the efforts of the country’s leaders will succeed in restoring security and peace in that territory.”
The Mozambican bishop said that the Pope’s words were a “clear call for this war not to be forgotten”, as well as a “major incentive for the rekindling of peace talks, that the people, victims of war, particularly the internally displaced and all the others who suffer from trauma, find some form of aid in the solidarity of the whole world”.
He added: “I believe the Holy Father is simply saying that no wars deserve to be forgotten, because all wars harm life and desecrate human dignity.”
ACN has been working with Pemba Diocese to provide material assistance to victims of terrorism, pastoral and psycho-social support, and vehicles for pastoral workers helping IDPs in camps in northern Mozambique.