Pope Francis today (22) expressed his ‘concern’ about the situation in Mozambique, expressing his solidarity with the country’s population.
‘I always follow with attention and concern the news that arrives from Mozambique and I wish to renew to this dear people my message of hope, peace and reconciliation,’ he said, after reciting the Angelus, which he presided over in the chapel of the Casa de Santa Marta, due to flu-like symptoms.
Mozambique’s Constitutional Council is expected to announce on Monday (23) its decision on the results of the 9 October elections, including the presidential, legislative and provincial assemblies and governorships; the opposition has held several protests, considering that the process was irregular.
‘I pray that dialogue and the search for the common good, sustained by faith and good will, may prevail over mistrust and discord,’ the Pope appealed, speaking from the Vatican.
The bishops of Mozambique have written a Christmas message in which they ask that, regardless of the results to be announced on the 23rd, space be made for ‘honest dialogue’ without the temptation of ‘repression or violence’.
‘Let us not give in to the temptation of taking the path of imposition and repression or of violence and destruction, because imposition and repression would lead to a forced and defeated coexistence, to violence and destruction, to a polarised and impoverished country,’ said Bishop Inácio Saure, president of the Mozambican Episcopal Conference, in the text sent to Agência Ecclesia.
AIM
