Islamist insurgents have destroyed 18 Catholic churches in Mozambique this year, bishop says
July 18, 2024
» Continue to this story on L'Osservatore Romano (Italian)
CWN Editor's Note: The bishop of Pemba, Mozambique, spoke with the Vatican newspaper about the Islamist insurgency that has ravaged Cabo Delgado province since 2017.
Bishop António Juliasse Ferreira Sandramo said that earlier this year, the jihadists destroyed 18 Catholic churches and attacked as many villages in the eastern part of Chiure district. In May, they attacked the provincial capital. Since 2017, he added, 4,000 people have been killed and one million have fled their homes.
“Jihadists have sometimes asked for support from the Islamic population, who often collaborate out of fear,” he said. “Since 2017, the Catholic Church has supported more than 250,000 internally displaced people with healthcare, transport, food, construction of shelters, school support, psychosocial support and spiritual assistance.”
Enrico Casale, who wrote the article for the Vatican newspaper, reported that “jihadist militiamen linked to the self-styled Islamic State continue to attack communities, villages and cities. They kill, destroy, terrorize. A massacre that is perpetrated with the silence of the international community and media.”
Mozambique, a Southeast African nation of 32.5 million (map), is 56% Christian (25% Catholic), 18% Muslim, and 25% ethnic religionist.
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