{"id":2952,"date":"2013-04-15T22:26:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-15T22:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/bishop-warns-of-church-plundering-in-central-african-republic\/"},"modified":"2013-04-15T22:26:00","modified_gmt":"2013-04-15T22:26:00","slug":"bishop-warns-of-church-plundering-in-central-african-republic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/04\/bishop-warns-of-church-plundering-in-central-african-republic\/","title":{"rendered":"Bishop warns of Church plundering in Central African Republic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Bangassou, Apr 15, 2013 \/ 04:26 pm (CNA<\/a>).- In the midst of a conflict between the government of the Central African Republic and the rebel S\u00e9l\u00e9ka coalition, the Church is suffering from fighting and theft by rebel forces, a local bishop said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe plundering continues, day and night, at any time. The terrified people do not flee, but weep, and try to defend the little they still have,\u201d Bishop Juan-Jos\u00e9 Aguirre Mu\u00f1oz of the Diocese of Bangassou told Aid to the Church in Need on April 4.<\/p>\n

\tBishop Aguirre is a priest of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus and has been Bangassou's bishop since 2000. Bangassou is located in the east of the nation, on the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<\/p>\n

\tThe Central African Republic also borders Cameroon, Chad, Sudan and South Sudan. Most of the nation\u2019s citizens are Christian, though significant minorities practice indigenous religions or Islam.<\/p>\n

\tThe country suffered a war from 2004 to 2007, which sprang up again in December.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cRebels or people disguised as rebels can break into\u2026homes at any time and rob them, armed with submachine guns,\u201d said Bishop Aguirre.<\/p>\n

\tThe rebel S\u00e9l\u00e9ka group entered Bangassou on March 11. According to Aid to the Church in Need, the coalition is of Muslim origin.<\/p>\n

\tAs the S\u00e9l\u00e9ka advanced across the country, President, Francois Boziz\u00e9, was ousted on March 24. Bishop Aguirre was in the capital city of Bangui on that day.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWhile we were celebrating Palm Sunday Mass,\u201d he said, \u201cfiring with heavy artillery and submachine guns began at 7.55 am and lasted for three hours. We live next to the presidential palace, so that we were in the thick of the fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThen, he said, a group of S\u00e9l\u00e9ka \u201cforced their way heavily armed into Bangui Cathedral just as the Mass was ending. The rebels began to fire into the ceiling. People threw themselves to the floor, onto the palm leaves. They were forced to hand over the keys for cars and motorcycles parked outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIn his own diocese, the town of Rafai was captured by some 20 bandits disguised as S\u00e9l\u00e9ka, he said. Despite this, no-one was hurt and \u201cthe Muslims from the region intervened to see off these 20 street robbers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe risen Christ is triumphant, but He always shows the Apostles His wounds,\u201d reflected Bishop Aguirre.<\/p>\n

\tBandits are also stealing goods from the Church and from religious orders, the bishop said, telling of a priest, Father Agust\u00edn, who walked 37 miles to say Easter Mass in one of his parishes, since a burglar had taken his transport.<\/p>\n

\tThe Central African Republic is among the poorest countries in the world, with extremely low human development and major human rights abuses.<\/p>\n

\tSince 2002, Aid to the Church in Need has been supporting 240 projects in the Central African Republic, providing over $3.2 million.<\/p>\n

\tThe aid has been used to safeguard priests, purchase cars and motorcycles, support pastoral work and promote various construction and further training measures.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bangassou, Apr 15, 2013 \/ 04:26 pm (CNA).- In the midst of a conflict between the government of the Central African Republic and the rebel Séléka coalition, the Church is suffering from fighting and theft by rebel forces, a local bishop s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east-africa"],"yoast_head":"\nBishop warns of Church plundering in Central African Republic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bangassou, Apr 15, 2013 \/ 04:26 pm (CNA).- In the midst of a conflict between the government of the Central African Republic and the rebel Séléka coalition, the Church is suffering from fighting and theft by rebel forces, a local bishop s...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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