All Maltese were reasonably worried with the killings in Garissa, Kenya, where the Maltese Capuchins have been working for decades on end, where Mgr Paul Darmanin, a Capuchin, has been bishop for three decades and Fr Joe Alexander, also a Capuchin, has been chosen as bishop coadjutor.
The attempts occurred in their diocese and in their area.
Both spoke to the Agenzia Fides (July 5) in these terms: Mgr Darmanin said he believed the motivation was purely political. “The Shabaab had threatened reprisal for operations carried out since October 2011 by the Kenyan army in Somalia... the Shabaab have increased the threat to strike in Kenyan territory. Garissa is not far from the border with Somalia.”
Asked why the churches are attacked if the cause is political, Bishop Darmanin replied that the churches are “soft targets”. “In addition the local population is almost entirely Muslim. The Christians and Catholcis are Kenyans from other parts of the country, regarded as foreigners by at least a portion of the native population.”
The bishop elect said: “We try to increase collaboration with the Muslims. The situation is calm. Both Christians and Muslims have condemned the attacks. They all say that there is no religious war but that the attacks on the two churches are probably a reaction to the presence of the Kenyan army
in Somalia. There was a meeting with civil and religious authorities of the area in which we participated as the Catholic Church.
“Bishop Paul Darmanin organised a meeting with priests, religious men and women to assess the situation, with the intention to increase aid to the Muslims to prove that we have nothing against them.
“Every month we distribute food even to Muslim families in difficulty because of the drought. It is true that there are some supporters of the Shabaab. Moreover, the population of the area consists of Somali and it is difficult to distnguish between those who are local and who are from Somalia.”
Some reflections: Accepting that on this planet earth there are one thousand and one different and complicated situations, it is refreshing to read the position of two bishops, Maltese in this case, who live in a highly difficult area in more sense than one but are able to distinguish and analyse with calmness and affirm that the problem is not religious but political.
It is not only refreshing, but saintly, for the bishop of the diocese to convene the church at the base, to leave no doubt among his faithful, affirming that the aid is to continue and that nothing will change the Church’s attiude of helping all families, including Muslims in the difficult situation they find themselves in.
We Christians and Catholics on this side of the planet, preoccupied as we are with the problem of the refugees, have a lot to relfect on and learn from the behaviour of our Maltese bishops living so near to the problem of political violence and of extreme poverty. Notwithstanding that they are destined to remain a minority, they reinforced their commitment to the gospel values.
Thank you bishops for the good example shown by your words and by your actions.
You helped us to reflect and understand better what is happening in our world.