“Whenever our personal interests take precedence over those of the people and of living together, we fray the national fabric that we nevertheless strive to build; we avoid having our fingers clog the holed jar and we finally flout the motto of our beautiful country: Fraternity-Justice-Work”, say the Catholic bishops.
In their October 19 collective statement released at the end of their four-day meeting in the Diocese of Dassa-Zoumè, the leaders of the Catholic Church implore: “May the God of mercy keep us from the worst and continue to bless the Benign”.
They say they are concerned about the “upsurge in cases of theft, robbery and acts of vandalism”.
“In addition to all this, there are alarming situations of insecurity which sometimes lead to the loss of human lives”, declare the members of the CEB, and call for “urgent measures to ensure the safety of our peaceful citizens”.
They call for “a frank collaboration of the population with the forces of order to make peace and tranquility reign in our country, guarantor of any development”.
The Ordinary Session considered issues relating to seminaries and houses of formation for future priests.
In their collective statement of 19 October, the members of the CEB express their “sincere sympathy to the populations affected by the recent floods which have caused extensive damage in various parts of our country”.
They encourage the Government, Non-Governmental Organizations and people of good will “to multiply the necessary efforts to come to the aid of our brothers and sisters affected”.
The members of the CEB also renew their invitation to the people of God, believers and people of good will “to fast and pray for our country”.
They encourage the continuation of the recitation of the “Prayer for our country Benin” and the “Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel” at the end of each Holy Mass, in all the parishes of Benin.
