The Archbishop of Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, recently visited the international headquarters of ACN in Germany. In this interview with Sylvain Dorient, Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga discusses current events in the Central African Republic and the situation for the Church there.

By ACN Staff

The Central African Republic (CAR) is larger than France and has recently witnessed civil war. The CAR is religiously diverse, with around three-quarters of the population being Christians, while there is a sizeable Muslim minority.

Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, the Archbishop of Bangui, the capital of CAR, was recently at ACN’s headquarters. He explained that the conflict heated up in 2020 when President Faustin-Archange Touadéra was re-elected. The previous president had troops at his disposal, and there was a threat of a coup. Faustin-Archange Touadéra forged an alliance with Rwanda, and with use of Russian mercenaries, the rebels were expelled from the major cities in CAR.

Cardinal Nzapalainga explained that there is still conflict:

“However, the rebels continue to be present in the smaller settlements, so the people cannot travel freely, because of insecurity. They fear the roadblocks and explosive devices. An Italian missionary, Fr Norberto Pozzi, was recently struck by a mine that was set off by his car, and he was badly wounded, even though he obviously had nothing to do with the current political conflict. They had to amputate his foot.

“Our country is bigger than France and it is difficult for a weak administration to control. There is not really a frontline. The militias hostile to the Government are spread out through the country, and difficult to pin down. The political motives of these rebels are unclear, but I fear that it is more a case of people who joined militias and cannot put down their weapons now because they have no other means of earning a living. The ones who belong to more structured groups take possession of the lands they plunder. Naturally, they are more active in places where there are more riches, such as valuable wood and minerals. The state is trying to impose the rule of law, and meanwhile all our citizens are suffering.”

Cardinal Nzapalainga dismissed claims that the conflict in CAR has a religious component. The cardinal said that religious leaders in the country have been very clear in denouncing any attempt to turn the current unrest into a confessional war. Many families in CAR are religiously mixed, with almost every Christian having a Muslim relative and vice versa.

When asked if he was asked if feared religious conflict spilling into CAR from elsewhere in the Sahel region, Cardinal Nzapalainga replied as follows:

“Our experience shows that religious conflicts can be avoided. There are opposite examples, such as in Senegal, where Muslims are the majority and there is no interreligious conflict, and where they have even elected Christian presidents. I think that religious leaders have a very important role to play to avoid religious division.”

The cardinal continued and explained that the Church in CAR has gone from strength to strength despite the unrest in the country:

“I think that this period of crisis benefits Church growth. For our poorer compatriots, who live in pain, insecurity and poverty, God truly is the Rock on which they can lean. During the unrest, when so many people were displaced, many found refuge in our churches, and some children were even born there.

“The Catholic Church in the Central African Republic is now trying to reach out to the peripheries, such as the Diocese of Bossangoa, in the Northeast, which has been plagued by armed groups. We have a school there and we are preparing young priests, both in human and spiritual terms, to go to this danger zone. We also invite lay Catholic couples to go to these places where nobody else wants to go.”

The cardinal finished the interview by discussing some of the challenges faced by the Church in ministering to the faithful during a conflict:

“The people who live in these difficult areas need the sacraments and the fraternal witness of the universal Church. This is very important. When I was made a Cardinal, I was told, and rightly so, that I was meant to represent the whole country, and not just Bangui. This is why I go to places where high-ranking Government representatives cannot go. Of course, this implies risks, even if only due to the state of our roads, some of which have not been repaired since independence. Recently my car flipped over on one of them… But our life is a small thing when compared to the expectations of the people who are calling out for spiritual support.”