Mozambique's bishops designated Nov. 24 as a National Day of Prayer for peace and reconciliation following the recent deaths and injuries related to the country's election crisis.
Amid the violent protests, the bishops called for peace, tolerance and respect for life in a Nov. 6 statement. Earlier, the country's bishops had urged the electoral commission and other electoral bodies Oct. 23 not to "certify a lie," but late Oct. 24, the institutions announced Daniel Chapo of Mozambique's Liberation Front, or Frelimo, the ruling party, as the presidential winner of Oct. 9 elections.
Pope Francis expressed his concern over the situation in Mozambique during the Nov. 10 Angelus prayer.
"The news from Mozambique is worrying. I invite everyone to engage with tolerance in dialogue and the tireless search for just solutions. Let us pray, for the entire Mozambican population, that the present situation does not cause them to lose faith in the path of democracy, justice and peace," he said.
Chapo, a little-known 47-year-old politician, had garnered 71% of the votes, while his closest challenger, Venâncio Mondlane, an independent candidate, got 20%.
Soon after the Oct. 24 announcement, angry crowds poured onto the streets, protesting the allegedly fraudulent results.
After leading a visit to the neighboring Mozambique, South African Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Umtata, pledged the church's support to their counterparts in the country.
Bishop Sipuka traveled to Mozambique Nov. 12-13, leading a Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference's delegation, alongside a separate Protestant delegation from the South African Council of Churches. The Catholic bishop is the president of both organizations.
"We commit ourselves to accompany the Churches and people of Mozambique on this journey toward a peaceful resolution of the current crisis and finding a lasting solution to the challenges," said Bishop Sipuka in a SACC statement on Nov. 16.
Ahead of the visit, Bishop Sipuka had stressed -- in a bishops' letter of solidarity on Nov. 8 -- a call on Mozambican authorities to address the causes of the election's agitation. The bishop had also expressed shock and sadness at the harsh repression of peaceful demonstrators by security forces.
"It will be difficult to continue repressing the will of the people who want to be free," Bishop Sipuka warned in the letter. "Should the incumbent government continue on this path, it will be impossible to rule the country and life will become more miserable."
With the protests mounting for weeks, the authorities had deployed soldiers on the streets, but citizens in cities across the country changed tactics, turning to pot-banging to express their rejection of the election results and to avoid confrontation with the retaliating security.
According to news reports, as of Nov. 20, at least 67 people died in the protests and at least 200 were injured in clashes with the security forces.
The South African churches said they felt a mistrust of the election management system in Mozambique, highlighting voter manipulation in counting and voting processes.
Out of 35 million people in Mozambique, 8.54 million, or 27%, are Catholic.
