Gabon: The Catholic Church fights against ritual crimes
The Association to Fight Ritual Crimes (L’Association de lutte contre les crimes rituels, ALCR) in Gabon records between 37 and 62 cases of ritual crimes in the country each year. In 2011 the ALCR registered 62 cases: 28 children, 20 women and 14 men. These figures, however, remain approximate because the association does not cover the whole country. “They assassinate everybody, without distinction as to race, religion, sex or age.” The association deplores the fact that “those behind these crimes still have not been punished.” Jean Elvis Ebang Ondo, president of the ALCR, was interviewed by the Bishops Conference of Gabon during their plenary assembly which met in Libreville from January 15-21, 2012. At that time he asked for the Church’s help and demanded the establishment of a permanent structure that would have the mission of “educating and sensitizing the population about the danger of sects, lodges, and traditional occult practices; offering support for the families victimized by ritual crimes and programs to welcome converts, as well as prayers and novenas.”
The bishops of Gabon announced in their final statement that “no one has the right to dispose of his own or someone else’s life. And so as pastors our hearts bleed every time we are informed of the ever more numerous ritual crimes committed in our country. We firmly condemn these practices, which go against all human and Christian values. It is unacceptable that the perpetrators of these vicious acts and those behind them almost always go unpunished. Life is a gift from God, and in no case may it be destroyed for any advantage whatsoever. For the Catholic Church we declare December 28 of each year, the feast of the Holy Innocents, a day of prayer for the innocent victims of all forms of violence.” (Sources : apic/gabonlibre/eglisecatholique.ga – DICI no.250 dated February 17, 2012)
