Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bangui (Agenzia Fides) - "It is our duty to show them tenderness and love" said Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Archbishop of Bangui, who celebrated Easter with about five hundred prisoners in Ngaragba prison, in the capital of the Central African Republic.
"The faithful have mobilized to prepare food and gifts to bring joy to our brothers who are imprisoned here. We took advantage of this moment to baptize some of them who voluntarily agreed to change their way of life. I ask those responsible of the prison in Ngaragba to take care of prisoners, not to oppress them, but to treat them with full dignity as human beings", said Cardinal Nzapalainga.
On this occasion the representative of the prisoners of Ngaragba deplored the poor living conditions of prisoners, and in particular "the precarious conditions in which some of them serve their sentences. When it rains, some are forced to stay under the rain because there is no space in the cells. We want the building to be renovated", he asked.
After the homily, Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga proceeded with the baptism of twenty-five prisoners.
Built in 1947 with an initial capacity of 400 inmates, the prison in Ngaragba currently welcomes more than double. Half of the Central African prison population is held in Ngaragba. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 24/4/2019)
