Recently the Holy Father has brought the world’s attention
to the plight of the starving peoples of Somalia. Yet few know that in this
land of fanatical Islamists, amongst the war torn and famine stricken people,
there are Catholics.
Catholicism was introduced into Somalia in the late 19th
Century, by Italian colonials. At the same time, in the British territory of
Somalia, some French Missionaries had established a Mission. Catholicism was mostly restricted to the
colonialists, until the abolishment of slavery by the Italian colonial
government; brought about by the anti-slavery activist Father Robecchi Bricchetti.
Soon after, many conversions were made amongst the emancipated slaves.
In 1928 a Cathedral was built in Mogadishu, the country’s
Capital city. The Cathedral was the largest in Africa at the time.
In 1950 there were 8,500 Catholics in the country, served by
16 Priests. With the end of colonial rule, Catholicism rapidly declined. In
1975 the Diocese of Mogadishu was established; the whole country is contained
in this Diocese. The first and only Bishop of the Diocese was Bishop Pietro
Salvatore Colombo O.F.M. In 1989 he was
murdered in the Cathedral while saying Mass. During the civil war, which
started in 1991, the Cathedral was completely destroyed by Muslim
fundamentalists.
Since then, Somalia's national government has collapsed and
the country has been controlled by rival warlords. Christians have often been
targets of violence and intimidation in this Muslim country. There are reports
of a systematic eradication of Christians and all traces and influences of
Christianity- a Christian genocide. All Churches and Church buildings have been
destroyed.
The care of the Catholic Church in Somalia was given to
Bishop Giorgio Bertin O.F.M, who is the Bishop of the neighbouring country of
Djibouti. He was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu.
According to a recent report by Vatican Radio there are only
100 Catholics in Somalia today, who are dispersed and prohibited from gathering
together. Bishop Bertin O.F.M can only
contact these few Catholics by phone and he has not been able to visit them for
the last 2 years. Most of these Catholics are situated in central Somalia.
According to Bishop Bertin, for the Church to act more directly and to be
openly present lies in the re-establishment of a stable Somali state.
No comments:
Post a Comment