LIBREVILLE, MARCH 6, 2015(CISA) – Archbishop Basile Mvé Engone of the Archdiocese of Libreville told the congregation that all Gabonese must learn to welcome each other with respect, acknowledging that the other is richness, a companion, a brother, a sister, a friend and not an enemy.
Speaking at the national Mass for peace, Archbishop Mvé Engone said: “When we gather here, our differences will not disappear overnight. However by gathering in faith, we demonstrate our mutual respect for each other and our yearning for peace.”
“Accept the other with his or her ideas and beliefs. This is the starting point for dialogue,” the Archbishop Mvé Engone continued.
The Bishops of Gabon say that they are worried by the deteriorating and acrimonious environment in the country, reported Vatican Radio.
In Gabon, ritual crimes are a major source of concern for the Church and society because they consist of practices committed because of belief in witchcraft.
Victims of ritual crimes, usually young people or children, are murdered in order to “harvest” their blood or some body organs.
Radio Vatican reported that it is suspected that these organs are used in “magic” rituals with the hope of gaining economic benefits for the perpetrators.
A message of peace to the head of State, Ali Bongo Ondimba was presented by the president of the Episcopal Conference of Gabon Bishop Mathieu Madéga.
Elsewhere, the Archbishop of Tunis, Ilario Antoniazzi urged the prelates to provide ecumenical and inter religious training to all religious and consecrated people in their dioceses in order to “build where many destroy.”
He explained that the Christians of his diocese live side by side and in peace with Muslim communities who are grateful for the work the Church carries out through Caritas, through schools and other social infrastructures.
