“Disturbing wave of violence in Burkina Faso,” Church Leaders Concerned

“I think it is more than ever the time for us Africans to open our hearts to God who is ever loving and merciful. Africa needs sons and daughters who believe and who engage to transform, pacify hearts, transform hands that take up arms and give them the tools to modify their living conditions,” Cardinal Nzapalainga told ACI Africa in Ouagadougou.

“Those who take up arms to kill innocent souls are living in darkness and don’t know God. If we receive the light of Christ, we must allow ourselves to be guided by this light so that we shall be able to pass on this light to those who are living in violence and bloodshed for a change in their lives,” the Cardinal, a member of the religious and missionary Congregation of the Holy Ghost Fathers added.

According to the Prelate, despite the ongoing violence in Burkina Faso, “God’s love is still abundant and will bring peace, justice and reconciliation in the country and other African countries, which are also in crisis.”

The 52-year-old Cardinal appealed, “We call on those fighting to think about the welfare of the population for their actions are bringing suffering to the population.”

He prayed for those perpetrating the violence in Burkina Faso, “May God’s merciful love abide in their hearts so that they may see him in their fellow brothers and sisters.”

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Following the steady deterioration of security in the West African landlocked country since 2015, the Burkinabé government enacted a state of emergency in nearly one third of all provinces in the country by the end of 2018, a step that has not yielded much as the crisis has been listed by the  Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) among the conflicts to worry about this year.

Burkina Faso’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Decentralization and Social Cohesion, Simeon Sawadogo shared with ACI Africa the impact of the crisis in his county saying, “Since the first terrorist attacks in 2015 (to) date, our country counts more than 600 people killed, many injured, and over 500,000 internally displaced persons. Also, this situation caused the closure of over 1,000 schools thereby preventing children from going to school.”

The crisis in his country, Mr. Sawadogo told the hundreds of delegates at the opening ceremony of the Pan-African Congress on Divine Mercy Tuesday, November 19, “is also at the origin of food insecurity touching hundreds of thousands of people. It is also an igniting factor if not the cause of inter-tribal conflict.”

“The population of Burkina Faso counts on your prayers and supplication and continental solidarity and communion,” Mr. Sawadogo told ACI Africa in an interview and added, “The population of Burkina Faso also counts on your prayers for peace to return to our country. We thank the Holy Father Pope Francis for his regular prayers for peace in Burkina Faso.”

Cardinal Ouédraogo who is also the President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) acknowledged the collaboration between the local Church and the government in reaching out to those affected by the crisis.

He told ACI Africa, “I called for a special collection in Parishes in August to support the victims and their families. As a result, an offertory collection was launched to support the displaced who had fled the insecure areas.”

Cardinal Ouédraogo added, “Our Caritas groups are also working daily to help these people.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.