Priest says missionary evictions from Eritrea have to do with control

Published: 2007-11-14

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The expulsion of 14 Catholic missionaries from Eritrea has less to do with religion than with the government's attempts to control every aspect of life within the country, said Father Giuseppe Cavallini. Father Cavallini, a Comboni missionary like six of the Catholic personnel told to leave Eritrea, said the early November expulsion order follows similar measures taken against foreign staff members of a variety of charities and nongovernmental organizations. Under the pretext that Eritreans should be running projects in Eritrea, nongovernmental agencies providing food, education and health care face serious restrictions in the country, he told Vatican Radio Nov. 10. "But anyone who knows the reality of Eritrea knows that these people who are expelled cannot be replaced easily," said Father Cavallini, editor of Nigrizia, a Comboni mission magazine.

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