Message of the Bishops of the Catholic Church in Guinea-Bissau

“Your brother is the one who tells you the truth”

(“Teu irmão é aquele que te diz a verdade”)

To all the brothers believing in the Risen Jesus Christ

And to all men and women of good will, living in Guinea-Bissau

We address you this message in a moment of great responsibility for everybody and of great risk for the whole population of Guinea-Bissau. Actually, we are facing a national issue of enormous gravity and whose consequences are unforeseeable. Explicit signs of uneasiness come from far away, but some of them came up more strongly during the last elections. As a matter of fact, there was a last effort trying to overcome, through a frank and honest dialogue, the difficulties that appeared. Unfortunately, the coup d’état of April 12, 2012, came to worsen the situation, with its load of risks, problems, and sufferings for the entire population that this military action carries along.

Now, in front of the consumed event we are facing and of the enormous questions which everybody is confronted with, we, the Bishops of the Catholic Church in Guinea-Bissau, want – with faith and commitment - to communicate the following:

1.      We strongly reject this last military option and all the forms of violence chosen to solve our problems. Unfortunately, in our recent history, people resorted many times to similar coups d’état and the practical results are visible to everybody: the real causes of the crises are not tackled and one notices the coming up of new conflicts. With the violence of weapons, the basic structures of society are disrupted and who pays is the entire population, who suffers the most without knowing why. Just as the popular wisdom says: “Ora ki lifanti na gueria, padja ki ta paga kulpa”! (“When the great fight among themselves, the little are to pay the consequences”).

2.      In this moment of great risk and decision, we ardently admonish all the Guineans to the following:

a)      That, first of all, we hold on to our common faith, since we believe in God creator and Father who intervenes to protect, help and teach us how to live as brothers. Even now, in this particular situation, we want to raise our eyes toward this provident and merciful God who will certainly hear us.

b)      That we form correctly our moral conscience, in such a way as to defend the common good, and to avoid negative behaviors that have seriously jeopardized our peaceful living together, namely:

-        the wild and illegal search for power and wealth;

-       the corruption, in all its varied forms;

-       the impunity in front of the crimes carried out;

-       the loss of transparency in the administration of public goods;

-       the spiral of violence, that leads to the death of several people;

-       the generalized negligence in the exercise of one’s profession, etc.

c)      That we pay sacred respect to the laws of the Republic and to the democratically elected institutions;

d)     That the dialogue be the noble way to be trodden by everybody in the quest of reconciliation, justice and social harmony;

3.      In this moment of particular difficulty, we want to address also an appeal to the International Community:

-        That it continue to help Guinea-Bissau to meet solutions more appropriate for our present situation and for the quietness and peace of the whole population.

4.      To end with, as Pastors of the Catholic Church, we want to invite all the believers to pray unceasingly to God, so that He may grant His peace and His blessing to our country and to everybody “give life and life more abundantly” (Jo 10, 10).

Bissau, April 17, 2012

THE BISHOPS OF GUINEA-BISSAU