O Contributo da igreja católica de Moçambique para o fim do conflito armado entre a Frelimo/governo e a Renamo

Abstract

The relationship between Frelimo/Mozambican Government and the Catholic Church of Mozambique was characterized by an initial period of tension with the Government accusing the Catholic Church of Mozambique of having collaborated with Portuguese colonialism, never having defended the Mozambican cause and the Mozambicans. The nationalization of its assets, the attempts to limit the freedom of religious practice and the restriction of movements of missionaries and bishops, as well as their critical attitude towards the revolutionary process underway in the country, their denunciations of irregularities of various kinds practiced by government officials , agents of Law and Order and of the Defense and Security Forces further aggravated the disagreements. From the end of 1980 onwards, Frelimo/Governo, moved by internal and external pressures of various kinds, started a dialogue with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church of Mozambique. It is during this process of dialogue that the proposal of the need to involve all Mozambicans emerges, in the search for ways to bring peace to the country, put forward by the Catholic Church of Mozambique. This idea, initially unwelcome by representatives of the constituted power, would eventually force Frelimo/Government to accept it, forced by political, economic and social pressures, both internal and external. It was following this acceptance that she, Frelimo/Governo, invited the Catholic hierarchy of Mozambique to seek the force that opposed them, arms in hand, to Renamo -, and to listen to them about what and how they thought to end the war. . These steps would result in the face-to-face between the belligerents, in July 1990 under the mediation of Catholic religious. It ended with the General Peace Agreement of October 4, 1992 During this period, the Catholic hierarchy of Mozambique, both in Rome and within the country itself, was evident in its commitment to helping the two contenders, to smooth out mutual mistrust, to favor and favoring dialogue and defusing tempers. Having managed to get Frelimo/Governo and Renamo to sit down at the table of conversations and engage in dialogue in conditions of security and environment to inspire confidence, constitutes the most notable contribution of the Catholic Church of Mozambique to the pacification of the country (TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)