UGANDA 4/6/2004 13:38 VISIT BY CARDINAL MARTINO IN ACHOLI COUNTRY POSITIVE Church/Religious Affairs, Standard Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino left Kampala this morning for Rome, where he is due to arrive this evening. Judging by the comments of missionaries who met him in North Uganda, the visit by the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has had a positive impact on the population in the Acholi districts, which are racked by a long and bloody guerrilla war. According to Father Josef Gerner, a parish priest in Kitgum, the cardinal found his mark with the local people, who are tormented by the rebels of LRA (Lordæ Resistance Army). æisiting the districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, Cardinal Martino was able to see with his own eyes the dramatic impact of the conflict on the young in particular who, when they are not abducted and enlisted by the rebels, in the best case scenario are forced to sleep rough in our missions for fear of being caught,?the German Comboni missionary told MISNA. Monsignor Paul Bakyenga, president of the local bishops?conference, said that the visit by Cardinal Martino had had a double effect: in the first instance, it represented a sign of the Holy Seeæ concern for Africa; but it also served as stimulation for renewed commitment by the Catholic Church in Uganda towards the tormented populations in the north. The archbishop of Gulu, Monsignor John Baptist Odama, praised the President of the Pontifical Council for his decision to visit the Acholi districts, racked by war since the 1980s. æhe cardinal promised us that he would be a mouthpiece for my peopleæ suffering and for us this is a sign of hope.?Sister Maria Grazia Palumbo, a Comboni nun, of the religious community of Kitgum shared this view. æ am convinced that the visit by Cardinal Martino encouraged our Christian leaders to persevere in this time of difficulty. The world needs to know that here life is held in such low regard that families no longer count their dead or their abducted children. The world needs to know that children, be they rebels or militias, are forced to take up arms against their will.?The Cardinal, who presided at the solemn Mass to mark the liturgical feast of the Ugandan martyrs, praised all the members of the Catholic Church, diocesan priests, missionaries and volunteers who, in the north of the country, risk their lives on a daily basis working alongside the civilian population. æhey are an extraordinary lesson in humanity and Christianity,?he said.[LC] N¬±êï‰Ç²,µçhžØ^"wèr‰§zÜ(®Hm¶Ÿÿà "ú ¢g(º
