Belmiro Tchissengueti, who was speaking at the press conference that marked the closing of the 2nd annual CEAST conference, which took place in Luanda province, said that the church respects the most varied positions.
"In other words, there is the side of the children's sensitivity, there is also the legitimate will of the State to carry out a dignified funeral for someone who led the country for 38 years", he underlined.
In this sense, he continued, what the church encourages "is dialogue between the parties" in order to find the best possible way to resolve these differences.
The CEAST spokesperson highlighted that the former president "did a lot for this country, despite its flaws", stressing that he was also "a factor of balance and of safeguarding peace in very delicate moments" in Angola's history.
"Without forcing situations, we encourage dialogue between the parties", he reinforced.
José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled Angola from 1979 to 2017, died on July 8, aged 79, in Barcelona, Spain, where he has spent most of his time for the past five years.
Two factions of the dos Santos family dispute, in the Family Court of the Civil Court of Catalonia, who will have custody of the body of José Eduardo dos Santos.
On one side are Tchizé dos Santos and his older brothers, who oppose the delivery of the remains to the former first lady and are against holding a state funeral before the August 24 elections to avoid political exploitation.
On the other side is the widow Ana Paula dos Santos and her three children in common with José Eduardo dos Santos, who also claim the body and want it to be buried in Angola in the near future.
This claim is supported by the Government, which decreed seven days of mourning and announced the intention of holding a state funeral, while the dispute continues in the judicial bodies, three days before the start of the campaign for the general elections, becoming a political fact that is marking the electoral race.
In an interview with Angolan media on Sunday, the Minister of State and head of the Military House of the President of the Republic, who leads the delegation representing the Angolan State, General Francisco Furtado, expressed confidence in a favorable outcome, stressing that the Angolan citizens and the international community want to see "the problem solved".
"The entire Angolan nation wants the presence of its former leader in the country to pay him the deserved tribute", said Francisco Furtado, stressing that if the Spanish authorities take into account the reasons that led the former president to Barcelona, "there will be no other outcome than the return of the body to Luanda".
