2024-07-02 02:06:47
We, the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Guinea (CEG), come at the end of the second ordinary session of the pastoral year 2023-2024, held in Conakry from April 28 to May 3, 2024, to send you this message. comfort, encouragement and questioning. Bringing you the worries and concerns of the national community at this time, at this period that is not yet very reaffirmed in our history, we make our own with you this word of God, which is our true compass and the star that once guided the wise:
“Behold, God will dwell with you, and you will be his people, and he will be your God. He will remove all tears from your eyes. There will be no more death, tears, cries and pain because the old world is gone. Behold, I am making a new universe, a new heaven and a new earth with a new covenant and new hearts in the depths of which I will write my law” (Apocalypse 21,3-5; Jeremiah 31, 31 –
34). What is the general context of our country?
1- Overview and analysis of the general context in our country.
It’s no secret that the current climate in our country is more bleak than promotion, that it’s made up more of questions and doubts than hope and light.
The truth is that hope remains hidden under the ashes as in the stories about the appearances of the Risen Christ described to us in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles where Jesus is not recognized at first sight.
But when he speaks to the disciples and the Apostles, their hearts are warm and they feel something special. We also have no doubt, in these moments of doubt and disappointment, that God remains present in all the events we experience.
Simultaneously and concurrently with current events whose conductors are the authorities and the people in power, nevertheless we point out as a sign of carelessness or neglect, the rise of insecurity in the cities, the number of accidents on the roads that are increasing , the frequency of fires in cities. Conakry and in towns and villages, and a permanent attack on our mother earth and our environment.
Armed attacks were recorded in several towns and especially in Upper Guinea during the day and at night. On the roads, not a week goes by without serious and fatal accidents involving coaches, buses and minibuses causing many deaths and significant material damage. These accidents are generally caused by speed, lack of vehicle maintenance and driver recklessness. At the same time, our country faces bushfires that destroy plant cover, fauna and flora as well as soil nutrients. These bush fires as well as the disorderly cutting of wood have changed our savannahs and forests into a desert, and everything seems to be going “flying” and without a rudder in our country. Which implies that it is not controlled with strictness and secure instructions.
In this context, all these difficulties are compounded by a lack of visibility into the direction, program and timetable of the transition.
In fact, according to everyone’s testimony, it was the enthusiasm and the flow of hope that greeted the arrival of the CNRD on September 5, 2021 and that was spontaneously expressed in the celebration of October 2, 2021 in the streets and in the public squares today. gave way to doubts, questions, even disappointment. And there was and still is the name of the facts that caused this loss of hope and joy: the internet cuts from November 24, 2023 to February 23, 2024, some media were destroyed on the channel bouquet, some jamming of the airwaves. , the imprisonment of certain journalists, etc. More than power cuts, there is currently a real shortage of electricity and running water in the capital Conakry and other towns in the interior, not to mention a meteoric rise in the price of basic necessities: rice, oil, sugar, onions, etc.
And all those difficulties are made worse by the lack of visibility regarding the objectives, content and timetable of the transition we are talking about moving to 2025 and direction for 2026 for sure.
This will bring us to almost five years of transition, which is one mandate. And this entire period of transition is characterized by the deterioration of the situation of the million unemployed young graduates who were, as they say in Guinea, “getting by” in workshops, hair salons, garages, etc. And because of the lack of electricity and restrictions on media space, these young people who are struggling to end are more insecure and economic misery.
2- There is hope if we agree to question ourselves and convert all of us.
Despite such a bleak picture, we do not lose hope.
There is hope in the first place in light of the efforts being made by the authorities that govern the country to open up neighborhoods and districts that are difficult to access. We also recognize the efforts of the leaders who have managed to maintain regular service to the depots and petrol or diesel stations, despite the situation we know about the hydrocarbon depot.
However, as shown above, due to the lack of electricity, the rise in the price of food items and the chronic unemployment of most young graduates, we have recently seen street demonstrations and slippage or blunders of the order and security forces. Each demonstration or strike results in the death of one or more young people. Would there be any chance of maintaining order in our country without using lethal weapons? Elsewhere, the death of the security minister would result in the death of a demonstrator by a stray bullet.
Aren’t these rioters crying rebellion from the communities showing their disappointment? Aren’t these street demonstrations and burning tires an expression of frustration that threatens to darken the general environment of living together and achieving the small achievements we received from our predecessors? A certain silence or silence from our authorities in the face of this simmering violence that worries citizens is cause for concern and fear for all.
If there is an expectation of greater openness and listening ability in the dialogue that has already started, we can all gather around the table and agree that we will not have to regret terrible situations. Expecting greater participation from all the active forces of the nation in the management of the current crisis, we can be given viable solutions to the issues of security, economy and justice that should be the compass for the transition as it first wants . If we expect more transparency in identifying the real causes of this crisis as well as the concerted search for solutions that are necessary for all, we should undergo an individual and collective examination of conscience and a change of mind to reach Guinea. corruption, mismanagement and carelessness.
We call on the political and administrative authorities on the one hand and on the political parties, trade unions, civil society and the active forces on the other so that everyone puts the “ball on the ground”, so that everyone relieves tension instead blowing on the embers. This requires that Guinea alone is a common heritage for all of us, we sat around a table to discuss, dialogue and above all to find ourselves among brothers and sisters from different regions of the country without anyone leave in exile or in case. moral or physical handicap. Do we not say that Guinea is one family and that Guineas are one house?
We call upon political and administrative authorities, law enforcement, security and defense forces, political parties and unions, with their demonstrators to join us in the spirituality of the disciples of Emmaus, which is to see in all men, even in the same one that is. I wonder, “send it from God” and why not God himself?
In fact, the disciples of Emmaus were discouraged and disappointed that they lost their messiah, crucified and buried, their backs on Jerusalem, with the hope of returning to their village and returning to their homes. But a stranger joins them on the way back, and explains to them the meaning of these events that took place in Jerusalem; they recognize him when they are together in their house in Emmaus and they share the meal with him.
In the spirituality of Easter, we remember that lost hope can be found in the man we considered to be a stranger or an enemy (cf. Acts of the Apostles 24, 13-35).
CONCLUSION
What to remember from all that?
Faced with all these events mentioned above and which the authorities cited reasons related to national security without any other explanation, and these frustrations and restrictions on individual and public freedoms in front of them, we invite, the Catholic Bishops of Guinea, first of all the political authorities of Guinea. the country to take into account the need and urgency of clarifying the transition timetable, its programme, its strategy and its objectives. This would allow everyone to see clearly and look to the future with confidence.
Therefore, we, your priests of the Catholic Church of Guinea, who are responsible for bringing you the light of God, ask those who rule and are ruled, active forces and demonstrators, religious authorities, notables and citizens to define or dialogue a new framework truly inclusive (with exiles and those who would be prevented physically and morally), without threatening anyone. That would make it possible to regain peace and go to transparent elections, to discuss frankly and honestly the current challenges of democracy in Guinea and the prospects of our country in the future. Then, we will have to come together on the ways and means to regain peace and bring back smiles to Guineans.
We, the pastors of the Catholic Church, take upon ourselves the responsibility to invite all Guineans from the interior and the diaspora, to a great celebration of a request for forgiveness (for all the victims of the different regimes that have succeeded in our country from colonial times to the present day), of reconciliation between us and the deceased, and purification or conversion to change our minds. The date and detailed rules of this grand ceremony will be defined later.
This would give us all the opportunity to abandon our personal and selfish interests, to look for sound management ethics of the common good, to develop respect for the sacred person, and to establish a permanent culture of peace in the spirit of conflict and distrust. These are the guarantees of real development in Guinea.
May God bless Guinea and the Guineans, may he visit us and fill us with his presence, so that we can change our minds and accept the feelings that God has, such as peace, justice, solidarity and love.
Done at Conakry on 3 May 2024
Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Guinea
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