Following the recent killing of priests in the Central African Republic, church officials worry that clergy are being targeted by armed groups for their peacemaking efforts.
“The attacks can be seen as an attempt to silence the church for its strong opposition to the violence and its work on peace,” said Nestor-Désiré Nongo-Aziagbia, vice president of the CAR Catholic bishops’ conference. “The Catholic Church has stood for the truth, denouncing all the evil plots and plans to destabilize the country and continue the illegal exploitation” of mineral resources.
In late June, Firmin Gbagoua, who served as the regional director of Caritas, an international Catholic relief group, became the sixth Catholic priest to be killed in the conflict, which has pitted Anti-balaka militias, who are mainly Christian and animist, against ex-Séléka rebels, who are mostly Muslim.
