The ruling Frelimo party in the district of Buzi, in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, has accused the Catholic Archbishop of Beira, Jaime Goncalves, of campaigning for the former rebel movement Renamo in view of the forthcoming general elections, but Goncalves has denied the accusation, reports Wednesday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".
The issue was raised during a recent meeting of the Frelimo Buzi district committee, chaired by Antonia Charre, a member of the Frelimo Central Committee.
The Frelimo first secretary in Buzi, Armando Majadire, said that "during his sermon in the locality of Guara-Guara, Goncalves accused Frelimo of promoting poverty in the country, and said that it thus has its days counted".
Majadire added that Goncalves urged his audience to vote for the opposition Renamo-Electoral Union coalition and for its candidate Afonso Dhlakama, in the forthcoming elections, if they want their lives to improve.
He said that the archbishop promised to offer tractors to the Guara-Guara residents if they vote for Renamo.
For her part, Charre described this as "an ugly attitude, particularly coming from someone as intelligent and prestigious as Dom Jaime Goncalves".
She warned that the church should do its work, which is to preach peace and morals, and leave politics to the politicians.
Charre urged the church to cooperate to preserve peace, and promised to channel the issue to the relevant structures of Frelimo, to do something to prevent anything similar in the future.
Goncalves denies all accusations. "I have never, in my preaching, broached any political issues, but I speak of social matters, which is my duty. I spoke of education, of poverty, of health, which are day-to-day issues in my duty as a bishop", he said.
"I did not speak of Frelimo, much less of Renamo, and I did not promise any tractor to anybody", he said. "First, I do not speak of Frelimo in my sermons, at least directly, and it is hard to find the term Frelimo in my words. He (Majadire) must have made some kind of mistake. Secondly, I did not promise any tractor, because I would first need one for myself. I spoke of the nation's problems, and the church comes as a solution".
He said that "this accusation is the result of some mistake on the part of Frelimo's first secretary in Buzi, as I spoke of crime, recommending care for the children, who may be killed or kidnapped, because such a problem is real. This I have said, but this is not politics, it is social issues".
"I have learnt that whenever elections approach in our country, many people want to know on whose side I am and what I think. People like this first secretary put words in my mouth, and I am not surprised that he comes out and say things that I did not say", said Goncalves.
He added that "I want to ask those who have been charged with following my sermons, if such people exist, to be objective, and to be accurate in their reports".
Fonte: AIM
