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Catholic Church denounces "violent assaults" on its institutions in recent months

The Angolan Catholic Church has recorded "dramatically violent assaults" on its institutions over the past three months, lamenting the "lack of response" from the police authorities which, in its view, "encourages the robbers", was reported this Monday.

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The concern was expressed by the archbishop of Luanda, Filomeno Vieira Dias, who in statements this Monday to Rádio Ecclesia – Catholic Broadcaster of Angola – denounced two robberies that took place in two Catholic institutions in the province of Malanje, last week, in which the religious were attacked.

The Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Casa das Madres of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist, both in the province of Malanje, were robbed on the 14th and 18th of December, respectively.

"What worries us is the continual succession of assaults on religious houses, despite our denunciations, the denounced feel encouraged, they feel encouraged to continue their practices, as if taking revenge or avenging themselves for the denunciations that we were doing it," said the archbishop to Angolan Catholic radio.

The bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST) expressed concern, last 7 October, with the high level of crime and insecurity in the country, which last year affected more than 60 institutions of the Catholic Church.

The disquiet was expressed by Filomeno Vieira Dias, at the time president of CEAST, at the opening of the second ordinary plenary assembly, which took place in Luanda.

"In recent months, after our pronouncements, in October, we have again recorded dramatic attacks on religious houses", said this Monday Filomeno Vieira Dias, metropolitan archbishop of Luanda, lamenting the lack of police response.

"We recorded here in Luanda, at Casa das Médicas de Maria, in Viana, we recorded at the Casa dos Misionários do Verbo Divino, where a priest was shot and others were tortured and now we have a new case in Malanje with the missionaries of São João Baptista, in the neighborhood of Carreira do Tiro", he noted.

According to the Catholic prelate, in Malanje, the nuns were "tied up and then threatened that their fingers would be cut off with a machete if they didn't hand over their belongings: It is actually quite distressing to see that this all happens."

"And recourse is had to the authorities, the order and security services and there are no answers, it seems that these people are even excited, encouraged to continue in that direction, as if saying now they will feel, this is all regrettable and all reprehensible," he said.

The police record "shortness of human and technical resources" to respond to public security concerns in the country's 18 provinces, as acknowledged last week by the general commander of the Angolan National Police (PNA), Paulo de Almeida.

The PNA commissioner-general, who was speaking during a meeting with journalists in Luanda, informed that the corporation currently has around 100,000 staff, a number that he hopes will double by 2025 and respond to the needs of the 30 million inhabitants from the country.

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