Archbishop, Visiting From Mozambique, Speaks of Churchıs Role in Society

More than 15 years after the Catholic Church played a major role initiating long-term peace and stability in Mozambique, the Church maintains an important role in society, said an African archbishop visiting the United States.

Mozambique is a model of how a country "can go from war to peace" with a relatively stable government and democracy and functioning parliament, Archbishop Jaime Goncalves of Beira told Catholic News Service Feb. 4.

During a prayer service at St. Josephıs Church in Greenwich Village Feb. 8, Archbishop Goncalves mentioned the role played by the lay apostolic group the Community of SantıEgidio in achieving peace in Mozambique.

"I went to Rome and I opened my sorrowful soul to my friends of the Community of SantıEgidio," the archbishop said. "Everything started from that."

The archbishop, who was in Washington meeting with officials of the U.S. bishops' Office of International Justice and Peace, was one of the four mediators of Mozambique's peace process. In 1992 the process ended a 16-year civil war preceded by five centuries of Portuguese colonization.

The other mediators were Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of SantıEgidio; Don Matteo Zuppi, its ecclesiastical assistant; and Mario Raffaelli, a representative of the ItaDugian government.

"The peace accord was signed in Rome on Oct. 4, 1992, after 27 months of mediation in the headquarters of the Community," Archbishop Goncalves said. "Today we can rejoice because that peace (has) lasted for 15 years."

Archbishop Goncalves also spoke about the Mozambique peace process in his homily at a Mass he celebrated Feb. 10 at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Manhattan.

Although Mozambique has seen strong economic development due to political stability and macroeconomic reforms, the Catholic Church, through its local Caritas aid agency, has been working to fight overwhelming poverty, AIDS and devastation from natural disasters.

Recognizing that the government still faces problems, such as the current movement toward a one-party system, church officials meet formally with government leaders once a year to encourage dialogue across political lines, Archbishop Goncalves told CNS.

He also said that the Church is building houses for people left homeless by recent flooding. Through its educational and agricultural programs, the church "prepares people to work," he added.

The archbishop said the Church also is working with the Sant'Egidio Community to improve the health of the people of Mozambique, where the national HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is more than 16 percent.

Archbishop Goncalves was ordained to the priesthood in 1967 in the Diocese of Beira, Mozambique. He became Coadjutor Bishop of Beira in 1976, Bishop of Beira in 1976 and Archbishop in 1984. He has served as chairman of the Mozambique Bishopsı Conference. His stay in Manhattan included a visit to the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation.—CNS

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