Nigerian bishops: Government should seek the common good

March 19, 2019 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

Abuja, Nigeria, Mar 19, 2019 / 01:51 pm (CNA).- After a recent gathering, the Catholic bishops of Nigeria called on local residents and officials to promote the common good by fostering respect for the human person.

“We enjoin all Nigerians, leaders and the led, to abide by democratic principles such as respect for human life, human rights and the rule of law,” they said in a March 15 communique.

“We also encourage the electorate to ensure that those who hold public offices in our country are held accountable. We equally urge all Nigerians to eschew all forms of indiscipline and corruption and be resolute rather than lose hope in our struggle for a better future and nation.”

The bishops of Nigeria gathered in Durumi, Abuja, from March 10-16. The statement released by the bishops’ conference summarized the meeting, was signed by Archbishop Augustine Akubeze of Benin City and Bishop Camillus Umoh of Ikot-Ekpene.

At their plenary meeting, the bishops discussed the recent elections, which were primarily held Feb. 23 after a last-minute delay from the prior week.

In considering the goal of politics, the bishops stressed the importance of the common good, which must be founded in virtue – rooted not only in the practice of social justice but also a culture of life.

“The pursuit of this good must be based on the respect for the sanctity and dignity of human life and the equality of all people. The Common Good presupposes respect for the human person and requires the social well-being and development of the group itself,” the bishops said in their statement.

Also discussed in their meetings was the role of the Church in Nigerian to educate the laity, especially the youth. Catholic social teaching should be simplified and given in practical examples to ensure “an effective socio-political formation of all the people,” the bishops said.

They applauded the behavior of the electorate, who fulfilled their civic duties or accepted defeat without violence. However, they also expressed concern that there may be a trend toward apathy.

“We believe that this apathy may not have been unconnected with among other things, the violence, malpractice and the unnecessary militarization of the process, all of which contributed to eroding the people’s confidence in the electoral process.”

In the days and weeks surrounding the elections, areas including Kaduna State, Taraba, Benue, Kogi, Edo, Rivers, Zamfara, and Adamawa, underwent violent disturbances, the bishops said. They lamented the lack of concern for the human person, saying it was painful to see.

The bishops encouraged the government to uphold just policies. Their statement particularly called on officials to address the continuing dysfunction within the election process, which enabled the purchase of votes and the election quarrels.

They also challenged the officials to enact policies that take into account the needs of the people, especially the vulnerable, and most importantly, that are founded in a respect for the person.

“Governance worth its name is only possible where there is true justice, equality and peace. It demands virtues, such as, patience, modesty, moderation, charity and efforts to share. In governing, leaders have to focus on the Common Good and ensure that the people and their aspirations, both individual and collective, assume paramount importance.”

Especially during this season of Lent, the bishops said, the people of Nigeria have the opportunity to pray and fast to further Christian charity. They reiterated the words of Pope Francis, pointing to this holy season is an opportunity to learn to live as Children of God.

“As we sincerely seek the face of God, let us be steadfast in cultivating those virtues of decency and moral uprightness that will enhance the peace, the unity and the well-being of the whole nation,” they said.

“We must continue to pray to God to help us rediscover our common humanity, cultivate respect for one another, enthrone transparency and accountability in the use of our common patrimony and imbibe apostolic charity towards the poor and the vulnerable in the Church and society.”

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Burundi bishops denounce suspect presidential election

May 27, 2020 CNA Daily News 0

CNA Staff, May 27, 2020 / 06:00 pm (CNA).- The Catholic bishops of Burundi have denounced the country’s recent general elections, and alleged irregularities in the voting process earlier this month.

The president of the Burundi Conference of Catholic Bishops (BCCB) issued a statement on Tuesday following the victory of Evariste Ndayishimiye, former secretary-general of the country’s ruling party, the CNDD-FDD.

“We deplore many irregularities with regard to the freedom and transparency of the electoral process as well as fairness in the treatment of certain candidates and voters,” said Bishop Joachim Ntahondereye of Muyinga after results were announced, according to AFP.

On Monday, the electoral commission declared Ndayishimiye the winner of the country’s May 20 election. He received 68.72% of the votes, more than double the opposition’s leader, Agathon Rwasa, who received 24.19%.

The opposing party, the National Council for Liberty (CNL), called the process “an electoral masquerade” and promised to appeal to the Constitutional Court this week. If the opposition’s appeal is rejected, Ndayishimiye will be sworn into office in August.

“In the face of these and other irregularities, we wonder whether they do not prejudice the (final) results to be proclaimed by the Constitutional Court on 4 June,” the bishops asked, according to Africa News.

The bishops have been outspoken before. In 2019, they alleged that minority parties were being “suffocated” ahead of the presidential election.

In response, government officials called for their laicization.

“Some bishops should be defrocked because it is becoming a habit: on the eve of elections they spit their venomous hatred through incendiary messages,” said presidential spokesman Willy Nyamitwe on Twitter.

Burundi is a landlocked East African country of almost 12 million. It has faced near constant political turmoil since the 1970s, and has been the place of two different genocides.

The Burundi bishops said their election observers noted, among other unfair actions, the ruling party engaged in electoral fraud, coercion, and intimidation. The government has been accused of detaining or ejecting CNL officials from the polls. Further, no foreign observers were permitted into the country to help supervise a fair election.

The Catholic Church “deplores in particular the coercion exercised on certain proxies to sign in advance the counting of the contents of the ballot boxes, the stuffing of some ballot boxes, the voting in place of deceased and refugees, multiple and therefore invalid proxies, the fact that there were in some polling stations voters who voted more than once,” the bishops said, according to Africa News.

The bishops also condemned “the exclusion of proxies and observers from the places where the votes are counted, the intimidation and coercion of some voters by administrative officials who accompanied them to the polling booths, the intrusion of unauthorised persons into the counting stations.”

The Church deployed 2,716 observers to overview the polling stations. While the number of observers was fewer than the number of stations, they were able to analyze polling stations in all of Burundi’s 119 municipalities.

Outgoing President Pierre Nkurunziza, who has ruled the country since 2005, applauded the victory of his party.

His final term in office was strongly opposed by the U.S., U.K., opposing parties, and Burundi bishops. His 2015 decision to seek a third term triggered violence in the country that left at least 1,200 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

Last year, the bishops emphasized the administration’s political violence and warned that the Imbonerakure – the youth wing of the ruling party – had replaced security forces in the country.

In response, the government said that some bishops should be defrocked and claimed that these men were spitting “venomous hatred through incendiary messages,” according to a tweet from presidential spokesman Willy Nyamitwe.

Following the country’s turmoil in 2015, Pope Francis encouraged prayers for the country and the victims of violence.

“I also wish to invite you to pray for the dear people of Burundi, who are living in a delicate moment,” the Pope said in his May 17 address ahead of the Regina Caeli prayers.

“May the Lord help everyone flee the violence and act responsibly for the good of the country.”

 

 

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