{"id":20819,"date":"2016-11-17T10:06:34","date_gmt":"2016-11-17T10:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/?p=18801"},"modified":"2016-11-17T10:06:34","modified_gmt":"2016-11-17T10:06:34","slug":"somalia-one-church-reopens-after-20-years-for-remaining-catholics-monica-zorita-de-la-morena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/11\/17\/somalia-one-church-reopens-after-20-years-for-remaining-catholics-monica-zorita-de-la-morena\/","title":{"rendered":"SOMALIA &#8211; One church reopens after 20 years for remaining Catholics &#8211; M\u00f3nica Zorita de la Morena"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\">SOMALIA &#8211;\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Church reopens for remaining Catholics after 20 years<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if it has to be silently, it is better to be there than not to be there\u201d, explains Bishop Giorgio Bertin, the apostolic administrator of Mogadishu and bishop of Djibouti, referring to the presence of the Catholic Church in this part of the Horn of Africa, where he has been living and working for almost 40 years now.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18805\" src=\"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Catholic-church-in-Hargeisa-recently-reopened-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"catholic-church-in-hargeisa-recently-reopened\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Italian prelate\u2019s face lights up when he is asked about the little church of St Anthony of Padua in the town of Hargeisa, in Somaliland (an autonomous region in northern Somalia and currently a self-declared independent state, though not internationally recognised). \u201cIt was built by the Capuchins in 1950, but for many years it remained closed. Before the rebel uprisings against the Somali authorities in Mogadishu I used to celebrate Mass there at least three times a year, including Christmas and Easter\u2026 Back then it was very dangerous.\u201d In 1996 a Caritas co-worker began doing work there, including building a wall, but it was dangerous to be there; it was shut down and there was a man watching over it. \u201cThen last January I spoke with the authorities in Hargeisa, explaining that we would like to open the church again and that it would also be a place from which humanitarian activities would be carried out with Caritas. They agreed, and so I re-consecrated the church\u201d, he replies, smiling broadly from ear to ear. He is speaking to staff of the international Catholic pastoral charity <strong><em>Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)<\/em><\/strong> in Rome, during a lightning visit to Italy. \u201cNot many people come to Mass \u2013 ten at the most \u2013 but nonetheless, <strong>it is important<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This small church in Hargeisa is the one and only place of Catholic worship in the whole of Somalia at the present time, a country where every day \u201cthere are more and more mosques, thanks to the financial aid from Saudi Arabia\u201d. For Catholics, however, \u201cthere is no possible way of having a presence in Mogadishu, since it is very dangerous. There are a few Catholics, but if they engage in any activities, for example with Caritas, they will be risking their lives. We can only be present there through the intermediary of other Somali associations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was 27 years ago, after the assassination of <strong>Bishop Salvatore Colombo,<\/strong> that the Holy See asked Bishop Bertin to become apostolic administrator of Mogadishu, after the rebels had destroyed almost the whole of the Somali capital and the entire physical presence of the Catholic Church. \u201cThey deliberately targeted us, though not only us; in fact they destroyed everything \u2013 the embassies, public institutions\u2026\u201d It was a rebellion on a scale that amounted to a before and after in the history of Somalia, a country where it has still not been possible to form a state, but where instead the country has been split up into different regions which have become self-proclaimed independent states, the majority of them unrecognised ones.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In Djibouti the Church is respected <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bishop Bertin is careful to explain that the independent state of Djibouti, where he currently lives, is quite different from Somalia. \u201cWe are left in peace there; there is no danger and the Church is respected.\u201d Currently there are around 5,000 Catholics living in this former French colony, the majority of them foreigners who are working there, or else French people or people who have come here from Ethiopia. \u201cThere are also some native Catholics from Djibouti itself, whether from past family tradition, or orphans who were brought up by Church institutions, but they are the minority.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn Djibouti the major task of the Church is the schools and the work of Caritas\u201d, the bishop assures us, touching the wooden pectoral cross around his neck. \u201cThey are like our two arms\u201d, he adds. \u201cOur pastoral work there is very limited, and even though we do not make converts or set out to do so, we are nonetheless sowing the seed of the Gospel among the people, given that 99% of the pupils in our schools are Muslims. They know that we are sincere and that we respect them, and they respect us in return.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In this overwhelmingly Muslim country there are around 30 Catholic religious, with two catholic churches and four mission stations. \u201cA priest or a religious sister is not there for the Catholics only; they are there as a presence in society, in contact with the people and open to them. We cannot remain closed up within our structures\u201d, explains Bishop Bertin, who first set foot in the Horn of Africa in 1969 and has lived there permanently since 1978.<\/p>\n<p>He was recently received in audience by Pope Francis. \u201cHe listened to me, we spoke about the realities of life there, he thanked us for our work and also for the gift that I brought him, which was incense \u2013 and he told me that the incense from Somalia was very good!\u201d, the bishop explains, laughing. \u201cNow we are looking forward to the ad limina visit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The international Catholic pastoral charity ACN has helped for various projects, both in Somalia and in Djibouti, over the years \u2013 for example with the translation and publication of various religious books, including the catechism. \u201cI am very grateful to ACN. We have had a very good working relationship for many years now\u201d, says the bishop of Djibouti.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>M\u00f3nica Zorita de la Morena<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SOMALIA &#8211;\u00a0Church reopens for remaining Catholics after 20 years &nbsp; \u201cEven if it has to be silently, it is better to be there than not to be there\u201d, explains Bishop Giorgio Bertin, the apostolic administrator of Mogadishu and bishop of Djibouti, referring to the presence of the Catholic Church in this part of the Horn&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-newsletters","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>SOMALIA - One church reopens after 20 years for remaining Catholics - M\u00f3nica Zorita de la Morena - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/11\/17\/somalia-one-church-reopens-after-20-years-for-remaining-catholics-monica-zorita-de-la-morena\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SOMALIA - One church reopens after 20 years for remaining Catholics - M\u00f3nica Zorita de la Morena - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SOMALIA &#8211;\u00a0Church reopens for remaining Catholics after 20 years &nbsp; \u201cEven if it has to be silently, it is better to be there than not to be there\u201d, explains Bishop Giorgio Bertin, the apostolic administrator of Mogadishu and bishop of Djibouti, referring to the presence of the Catholic Church in this part of the Horn...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/11\/17\/somalia-one-church-reopens-after-20-years-for-remaining-catholics-monica-zorita-de-la-morena\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-17T10:06:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ACN Malta Media\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ACN Malta Media\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/11\/17\/somalia-one-church-reopens-after-20-years-for-remaining-catholics-monica-zorita-de-la-morena\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/11\/17\/somalia-one-church-reopens-after-20-years-for-remaining-catholics-monica-zorita-de-la-morena\/\",\"name\":\"SOMALIA - One church reopens after 20 years for remaining Catholics - M\u00f3nica Zorita de la Morena - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/11\/17\/somalia-one-church-reopens-after-20-years-for-remaining-catholics-monica-zorita-de-la-morena\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/11\/17\/somalia-one-church-reopens-after-20-years-for-remaining-catholics-monica-zorita-de-la-morena\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-17T10:06:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-11-17T10:06:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#\/schema\/person\/3c01ab68e03f1b76347f9f6ac439a9d2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/11\/17\/somalia-one-church-reopens-after-20-years-for-remaining-catholics-monica-zorita-de-la-morena\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/11\/17\/somalia-one-church-reopens-after-20-years-for-remaining-catholics-monica-zorita-de-la-morena\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/11\/17\/somalia-one-church-reopens-after-20-years-for-remaining-catholics-monica-zorita-de-la-morena\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/11\/17\/somalia-one-church-reopens-after-20-years-for-remaining-catholics-monica-zorita-de-la-morena\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"SOMALIA &#8211; 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