AFRICA - Appeal for Central Africa by Caritas Africa

Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) - "We express our indignation with regards to the suffering imposed on the innocent civilian population," say the participants at the meeting of the Secretaries and National Directors of Caritas Africa region, in a statement sent to Fides Agency on the dramatic situation in the Central African Republic.
"We welcome and support the courageous and prophetic efforts undertaken by the Church of the Central African Republic to restore hope to the people who are suffering and to work to prevent the extension of this crisis as well as prevent its insidious transformation into a religious conflict" continues the document .
Caritas Africa, in addition to ensuring their solidarity to the people of Central Africa, have launched an appeal to international institutions (the UN, African Union, European Union, etc. ..) so they may accept "requests for assistance launched by the Central Church in order to put an immediate end to this situation. "They also ask "our Fathers, Bishops, who gather from 8 to 15 July in Kinshasa for the Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), to deal with this situation together with the Bishops of this Country and to authorize us to start the collections of gifts in our Churches to help the people of Central Africa".
The meeting of the directors of Caritas Africa was held in Nairobi from 1 to 5 July. In the final declaration, sent to Fides, it is stated, among other things, that a commitment was made to spread in all African Churches knowledge of two documents: the Declaration of Bishops made in Kinshasa in 2012 on the identity and Mission of Caritas in the light of the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, and the Motu Proprio "Intima Ecclesiae Natura" on the service of charity. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 09/07/2013)