austraLasia
1566
Hundreds brave threats of rain, bullets to celebrate
the feast of Mary Help of Christians
COMORO-DILI: 29th May 2006 -- The
procession from the church to Our Lady’s grotto a kilometre away and the Mass in
honor of Mary Help of Christians went on as scheduled on 24th May. “I praise you
for your courage,” Fr. Manuel Fraile, the pastor of the Parish of Mary Help of
Christians in the Comoro area of the nation’s capital, told the congregation,
“because you came in spite of the overcast skies and the happenings around us.
In fact, when I consulted some of you earlier this afternoon whether it would be
wiser to cancel the procession and Mass at the grotto and have a simple Mass
inside the church, you said, ‘No, let us go ahead as scheduled, and we are ready
make a little sacrifice under the rain”.
Not only the
procession and Mass went on uneventfully, but also the procession going back to
the church, the reception and short program after the Mass. There was only one
hitch: Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva could not come to celebrate the Mass
because he was asked by the President of the Republic to attend a meeting to
discuss the worsening situation in the country.
Just the
day before, there was a battle between the regular army and some run-away
soldiers at the eastern end of the capital, which resulted in two deaths and
several wounded. People panicked and sought refuge in the different convents of
religious congregations. The refugees in Comoro, some of which have been staying
there since the 28th of April, increased. The burning of some houses by goons,
and unclear news of other incidents some kilometres west of the city were
reasons enough for people to keep to their refuge.
Some
relief came later in the evening when the national radio and television
announced the decision of the government, the diplomatic corp and the church to
call in Peace Keeping Forces from New Zealand, Australia, Portugal and Malaysia.
The news said the soldiers were already on the way to this troubled country. But
still, the refugees at Don Bosco said, “We will not leave Don Bosco until we see
the foreign soldiers with our own eyes and the situation under their control.”
UPDATE: The city is calmer, but Australian troops have
requested their superiors and the Government in East Timor for a strengthening
of their rules of engagement to enable them to deal with armed mobs who still
roam the streets at will. Not a little of the anger of the ordinary people
is directed at Prime Minister Alkatiri - the requests for him to step aside for
a more widely acceptable person (Ramos Horta has been suggested as one such)
have been insistent. meanwhile aid Agencies are predicting that unless the
situation is soon resolved, a humanitarian crisis will face the nation and the
world.
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