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Bangui (Agenzia Fides) - "After 125 years of evangelization, the Archdiocese of Bangui sends priests on missions. It is the sign of the vitality of our particular Church and of solidarity among the Churches", announced His Eminence Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Archbishop of Bangui, in the homily during the opening Mass of the Pastoral Year, held last Sunday, September 30th , in the Cathedral of the capital of the Central African Republic. The theme of the new Pastoral Year is "Ecumenism and interreligious dialogue in a Country at war: the case of the Central African Republic".
The Cardinal urged the faithful to live the slogan chosen by the Archdiocese "Christians of the Archdiocese of Bangui, in the name of Christ let us dialogue with our brothers".
During the homily the Cardinal denounced the presence of foreign mercenaries, invited by "some brothers for political, economic, ethnic and selfish reasons" in the country. The mercenaries - he underlined - "undermine coexistence and complicate dialogue". "Even today, armed groups and those who support them have the hegemony over the assets of our Country. The excessive and rapid enrichment of some to the detriment of others worries us", said the Cardinal.
"May the Lord pull us out from intolerance, discrimination, distrust, misery, rage, hatred, revenge. May he sow trust, tolerance, kindness into our hearts. May the Virgin, Mother of Oubangui, Queen of Peace, teach us how to dialogue with our brothers and sisters in love and truth", concluded Cardinal Nzapalainga. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 3/10/2018)
