“Be more responsible”: Catholic Bishop in Angola to Drivers amid Surge in Road Accidents

Caxito, 11 January, 2024 / 11:30 AM

Bishop Maurício Agostinho Camuto of Caxito Diocese in Angola has weighed in on the reported spike in road accidents in the Southern African nation, and called for responsible driving. 

In a January 3 report, Angola’s National Police is quoted as having reported “a decrease in fatalities but a surge in road accidents”.

In his homily during Holy Mass at the Chapel of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST) in Luanda, Bishop Camuto decried irresponsible driving, saying, “God did not create us to die as we are dying on the roads with these brutal accidents.”

“Sometimes we put cars in the hands of irresponsible people who don't know how to respect the highway code or who don't know how to drive,” he added.

The Angolan member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CSSp/Spiritans) underscored the need for drivers to be careful. 

He said, “Let's make a commitment to be more responsible, to be protectors of life; not only our own, but also the lives of our brothers and sisters, to be men of peace on the roads.”

“We have motorcyclists going at full speed and even where they shouldn't run, they run, overtaking vehicles anywhere. What they want most is to get to their destination, risking people's lives and risking their lives,” Bishop Camuto further lamented.

Irresponsible driving, he said, has put Bengo “on the list of provinces with a high rate of road accidents in Angola.”

“Lack of knowledge of the highway code, haste and drunk driving are the main causes of road accidents in Angola,” the Catholic Church leader observed.