Prelate says church in Mozambique plays important role in society

Published: 2008-02-07

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- More than 15 years after the Catholic Church played a major role initiating long-term peace and stability in Mozambique, the church maintains an important role in society, said an African archbishop. Mozambique is a model of how a country "can go from war to peace" with a relatively stable government and democracy and functioning parliament, Archbishop Jaime Goncalves of Beira told Catholic News Service Feb. 4. But recognizing that the government still faces problems, such as the current movement toward a one-party system, church officials meet formally with government leaders once a year to encourage dialogue across political lines, said Archbishop Goncalves. The archbishop, who was in Washington meeting with officials of the U.S. bishops' Office of International Justice and Peace, was one of the four mediators of Mozambique's peace process. In 1992 the process ended a 16-year civil war preceded by five centuries of Portuguese colonization. Two members of the Rome-based Sant'Egidio Community and an Italian legislator also helped mediate.

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