austraLasia 1566
Hundreds brave threats of rain, bullets to celebrate the feast of Mary Help of Christians
COMORO-DILI: 29th May 2006 -- The procession from the church to Our Lady’s grotto a kilometre away and the Mass in honor of Mary Help of Christians went on as scheduled on 24th May. “I praise you for your courage,” Fr. Manuel Fraile, the pastor of the Parish of Mary Help of Christians in the Comoro area of the nation’s capital, told the congregation, “because you came in spite of the overcast skies and the happenings around us. In fact, when I consulted some of you earlier this afternoon whether it would be wiser to cancel the procession and Mass at the grotto and have a simple Mass inside the church, you said, ‘No, let us go ahead as scheduled, and we are ready make a little sacrifice under the rain”.
Not only the procession and Mass went on uneventfully, but also the procession going back to the church, the reception and short program after the Mass. There was only one hitch: Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva could not come to celebrate the Mass because he was asked by the President of the Republic to attend a meeting to discuss the worsening situation in the country.
Just the day before, there was a battle between the regular army and some run-away soldiers at the eastern end of the capital, which resulted in two deaths and several wounded. People panicked and sought refuge in the different convents of religious congregations. The refugees in Comoro, some of which have been staying there since the 28th of April, increased. The burning of some houses by goons, and unclear news of other incidents some kilometres west of the city were reasons enough for people to keep to their refuge.
Some relief came later in the evening when the national radio and television announced the decision of the government, the diplomatic corp and the church to call in Peace Keeping Forces from New Zealand, Australia, Portugal and Malaysia. The news said the soldiers were already on the way to this troubled country. But still, the refugees at Don Bosco said, “We will not leave Don Bosco until we see the foreign soldiers with our own eyes and the situation under their control.”
UPDATE: The city is calmer, but Australian troops have requested their superiors and the Government in East Timor for a strengthening of their rules of engagement to enable them to deal with armed mobs who still roam the streets at will. Not a little of the anger of the ordinary people is directed at Prime Minister Alkatiri - the requests for him to step aside for a more widely acceptable person (Ramos Horta has been suggested as one such) have been insistent. meanwhile aid Agencies are predicting that unless the situation is soon resolved, a humanitarian crisis will face the nation and the world.
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AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please
contact admin@bosconet.aust.com Try out BoscoWiki to be interactive. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/RSS/rssala.xm
Hundreds brave threats of rain, bullets to celebrate the feast of Mary Help of Christians
COMORO-DILI: 29th May 2006 -- The procession from the church to Our Lady’s grotto a kilometre away and the Mass in honor of Mary Help of Christians went on as scheduled on 24th May. “I praise you for your courage,” Fr. Manuel Fraile, the pastor of the Parish of Mary Help of Christians in the Comoro area of the nation’s capital, told the congregation, “because you came in spite of the overcast skies and the happenings around us. In fact, when I consulted some of you earlier this afternoon whether it would be wiser to cancel the procession and Mass at the grotto and have a simple Mass inside the church, you said, ‘No, let us go ahead as scheduled, and we are ready make a little sacrifice under the rain”.
Not only the procession and Mass went on uneventfully, but also the procession going back to the church, the reception and short program after the Mass. There was only one hitch: Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva could not come to celebrate the Mass because he was asked by the President of the Republic to attend a meeting to discuss the worsening situation in the country.
Just the day before, there was a battle between the regular army and some run-away soldiers at the eastern end of the capital, which resulted in two deaths and several wounded. People panicked and sought refuge in the different convents of religious congregations. The refugees in Comoro, some of which have been staying there since the 28th of April, increased. The burning of some houses by goons, and unclear news of other incidents some kilometres west of the city were reasons enough for people to keep to their refuge.
Some relief came later in the evening when the national radio and television announced the decision of the government, the diplomatic corp and the church to call in Peace Keeping Forces from New Zealand, Australia, Portugal and Malaysia. The news said the soldiers were already on the way to this troubled country. But still, the refugees at Don Bosco said, “We will not leave Don Bosco until we see the foreign soldiers with our own eyes and the situation under their control.”
UPDATE: The city is calmer, but Australian troops have requested their superiors and the Government in East Timor for a strengthening of their rules of engagement to enable them to deal with armed mobs who still roam the streets at will. Not a little of the anger of the ordinary people is directed at Prime Minister Alkatiri - the requests for him to step aside for a more widely acceptable person (Ramos Horta has been suggested as one such) have been insistent. meanwhile aid Agencies are predicting that unless the situation is soon resolved, a humanitarian crisis will face the nation and the world.
____________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please
contact admin@bosconet.aust.com Try out BoscoWiki to be interactive. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/RSS/rssala.xm
