As Angola drought continues, Catholic Church calls for emergency declaration

Abuja, Nigeria, Mar 12, 2018 / 10:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- With widespread violence plaguing Nigeria, Catholic religious sisters in the country have united in the name of peace to counter the mounting conflicts.

“The news of murders, massacres, … […]

Bangui, Central African Republic, Jul 17, 2018 / 11:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The bishops of the Central African Republic have urged Catholics not to give in to calls for revenge attacks on Muslims, following a surge in violence and the murder of a priest.

The CAR has suffered violence since December 2012, when several bands of mainly Muslim rebel groups formed an alliance, taking the name Seleka, and seized power.

In reaction to the Seleka’s attacks, some Central Africans formed self-defense groups called anti-balaka. Some of these groups, mainly composed of Christians, began attacking Muslims out of revenge, and the conflict took on a sectarian character.

A group calling itself the League of Defense of the Church issued a statement earlier this month saying it would defend the Church and avenge killed priests, charging that both the government and the Church hierarchy have failed to protect Christians.

The Central African Bishops’ Conference responded, saying, “The bishops of Central Africa were outraged by this communiqué from an organization called ‘The League of Defense of the Church’ in the Central African Republic of which they know nothing about.”

“The projects that this league claims to achieve are at odds with the gospel, the aspirations of the church and its mission in the Central African Republic,” continued Fr. Joseph Tanga Koti, general secretary of the bishops’ conference.

“The Bishops of the Central African Republic want Central Africans to be vigilant. There are always enemies of peace who want to create a conflict between Christians and Muslims to show that Christians and Muslims cannot live together in Central Africa,” the conference has said.

The CAR held a general election in 2015-16 which installed a new government, but militant groups continue to terrorize local populations. Thousands of people have been killed in the violence, and at least a million have been displaced. At least half of Central Africans depend on humanitarian aid, the U.N. reports.

Pope Francis visited the CAR during his trip to Africa in 2015, and urged the country’s leaders to work for peace and reconciliation.

Three priests have keen killed in the CAR this year.

Fr. Firmin Gbagoua, vicar general of the Diocese of Bambari, was shot June 29 while eating dinner by the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic, and ex-Seleka militia dominated by the Fulani ethnic group.

In May, an attack on Our Lady of Fatima parish in Bangui while Mass was being said left 15 dead, including Fr. Albert Toungoumale Baba.

And in April, Fr. Joseph Désiré Angbabata was killed together with some of his parishioners in an attack on his church in Seko, about 40 miles northeast of Bambari.

[…]

Erbil, Iraq, Aug 9, 2017 / 04:32 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After three years in exile from Iraq’s Nineveh Plain while it was occupied by the Islamic State, the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena are returning to their homeland to face the daunting challenge of rebuilding their destroyed communities.

“Three years ago, we left our homes at night to the unknown. We started a journey of displacement, exile and questioning,” stated an Aug. 6 open letter from the Dominican Sisters in Erbil.

“Despite everything, we always dreamed of going back and finding our houses safe and sound, just as we left them. We strongly wished that we would return and kindle our candles for prayers, harvest our grapes, and read our books,” the letter continued.

In 2014, the Nineveh Plain was overtaken by the Islamic State, forcing tens of thousands into exile and displacement. The Nineveh Plain territory lies between the city of Mosul, the country’s second-largest city, and Iraqi Kurdistan.

In the fall of 2016, two years after the Islamic State claimed the Nineveh territory, Iraqi forces made significant military gains and liberated the Nineveh Plain. Many scattered families were able to return to their towns with hope for the future.

“God showered us with His graces as our towns were liberated, one after the other; ISIS was defeated and the Plain of Nineveh seems to have been liberated,” the Dominican Sisters wrote.

While the territory is now seemingly safe from Islamic State forces, the Sisters said that it “does not mean that the Plain of Nineveh is entirely cleansed from that mentality.”

Upon returning to their homes, many found graffiti on the walls in their towns that read “we’re going to break your crosses,” and “you have no place with us.” Some churches were found to have battle instructions etched on the walls, with piles of deadly chemicals in the corners.

In addition, the physical damage left behind is overwhelming. Upwards of 6,000 homes are in need of repair or complete rebuilding just in the city of Bakhdida, also known as Qaraqosh. The families who still have standing houses are few and far between.

“We were so much stunned by the damage we saw. It was badly painful to see all that overwhelming destruction,” the sisters said.

“We immediately realized that it was not military forces or smart weapons that caused all the damage, but hate,” the sisters wrote, saying “hate leaves both oppressed and oppressor deeply winded.”

Some towns, such as Batnaya, were left 90 percent destroyed and the process of cleaning up has only begun. Another town, Bakhdida, was only 30 percent destroyed, but the NGOs who are helping with its repairs “are not enough compared to the destruction.”

Volunteers and locals hope to rebuild or repair as many homes as they can by September, which would be the beginning of the school year. However, the sisters noted that only the Church and some NGOs are actively involved in the long and expensive rebuilding process.

Many families have decided not to return to their communities due to the overwhelming loss of their homes. Others don’t return because they can no longer trust their neighbors. The sisters said that “we knew that it was our neighbors who betrayed us and did us harm, even before ISIS did.”

“It is not easy to decide whether to go back,” the Sisters continued, saying that their own convent in Bakhdida was also partially destroyed.

However, the sisters have decided to return to the Nineveh Plain, and they will be living in a family home in Telskuf until their convent has been repaired. The sisters also need to rebuild the orphanage which had been burnt down, and hope to start a kindergarten by the fall.

Although the aftermath of Islamic State’s occupation of the Nineveh Plain is significant, the sisters are hopeful for the future. Some families have been able to return to their homes, and the sisters are grateful that some of the rebuilding process that has already begun.

“Today, we see the marvelous work of God,” the sisters reflected.

“God is with us and will not leave us. We thank you for all the support you have shown us. Please pray for us as we start this new phase of our lives.”

[…]