MOZAMBIQUE (ACN News): In a dramatic appeal, the Conference of Religious Institutions in Mozambique (CIRM) took a forthright stand against the rising tide of violence in the south-east African coastal nation of Mozambique, declaring boldly, “We publicly protest against the violence that afflicts our nation and claims innocent human lives.”
Bishop Francisco Lerma Martínez of Gurúè, in a letter to the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), wrote that the wave of brutal attacks was not even sparing the religious.
The causes for the exploding crime wave were the widespread poverty and glaring social inequalities.
According to the United Nations, Mozambique is the fourth-poorest nation in the world.
The appeal of the religious institutions continues, “Organ trade and human trafficking, rape, kidnapping, murder, armed robbery – all these acts of violence reduce citizens to hostages in their own country.
“We cannot imagine our nation developing without fundamental human values.
“These are not negotiable – on the contrary: one human life is much more valuable than any large-scale project or financial investment.
“We appeal to the civil population, non-governmental organisations, the media and all persons of good will to discuss ways to break out of the spiral of violence.”
The CIRM protest was sparked by the armed robbery of a mission station of the Consolata Missionaries at the beginning of May, in the course of which one religious was killed.
