Catholics in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau held a day of prayer and fasting for peace and unity in the troubled country.
Guinea-Bissau never quite achieved stability following its independence from Portugal in 1975, and division and conflict continue to affect the nation today, fuelled largely by rampant corruption and money from the drug trade.
The day of prayer and fasting culminated in two eucharistic celebrations during which Church leaders called on the political authorities to listen to the concerns of the people.
“The situation is difficult, we need to pray, fast and remember the motto of our first bishop, Settímio Ferrazzetta, ‘The Truth shall Set you Free’. The truth can free Guinea-Bissau, especially at such a delicate moment as this. The people of Guinea-Bissau are tired of division, fighting, violence, threats and brutality,” said the vicar-general of the diocese of Bissau, Father Davide Sciocco, during the mass at the cathedral in Bissau.
The call came at a time when the country is facing a deep political crisis. The President dissolved Parliament in December 2023, citing a coup, and had called for elections this November, but postponed them precisely on the day of prayer and fasting called for by the Catholic Church.
In the country’s second diocese, Bafatá, the diocesan administrator, Father Lucio Brentagani, painted a harsh picture of current reality in Guinea-Bissau. “There is a lot of hunger; many patients cannot find healthcare professionals because they are on strike; there are many internal problems; students want to go to school, but they can’t, because the education system is a mess,” he said during the celebration at Bafatá cathedral.
“On this day of prayer and fasting for Guinea-Bissau let us call on our governors, politicians, military, magistrates and police forces not to close their eyes and their ears to the cry of help which is coming from the poor people, from so many families which do not have enough to eat.”
Christians are a minority of just under 20% in Guinea-Bissau, which is mostly Muslim, with a large population of followers of traditional beliefs. However, the Catholic Church plays a major role in the field of health and education. According to the religious freedom report 2023 by ACN, Guinea-Bissau generally enjoys strong inter-religious harmony, but there are concerns that terrorist groups have been making inroads and could be using the economic and social hardships to influence young people to take up arms. In 2022, a Church was attacked and vandalised, but for now this has remained an isolated incident. This concern is fuelled by occasional aggressive forms of evangelisation by some independent Pentecostal groups as well.
In the last five years, ACN has supported approximately 40 projects in Guinea-Bissau.
By Paulo Aido & Casimiro Cajucam.
