The four, the Bishop said, had not shown up for the Diocesan days that had been organized by their group.
The 54-year-old Catholic Bishop who has been at the helm of Cabinda Diocese since his Episcopal Ordination in September 2018 contested media reports about the alleged 106 missing pilgrims, saying, “I don't know where the other 100 came from, I don't even know where they are because I can't speak on behalf of the Cape Verde delegation.”
In a statement issued Tuesday, August 1, the Catholic Diocese of Mindelo in Cape Verde decried the reports about alleged disappearance of the supposed 106 pilgrims, saying that peddling such information was likely to cause confusion.
“The news that has been broadcast in some media about WYD pilgrims from Cape Verde and Angola, allegedly missing, seems to us an exaggerated communication that sows confusion and unnecessary alarm,” read the statement from the Diocese in part.
“The WYD is still in progress, although there were previous phases and moments, such as the Diocesan Days in Leiria and Lamego for the young people of Cape Verde, and the fact that some pilgrims did not show up in these places is not sufficient reason to speak of disappearance,” the statement indicated.
Cape Verde sent 150 people for the pilgrimage in Lisbon. The group is composed of pilgrims from the parishes of Sal, Boa Vista, São Vicente, Santo Antão and São Nicolau.
Seminarians from the Diocese of Mindelo studying in Seville, Recife and Lisbon, the Neo-Catechumenal Movement and the Salesian School are also part of the group.
The Diocese of Mindelo has clarified that not all these groups have the same programme of accommodation and activities during their stay in Portugal, adding, “115, of those who depend directly on the Organising Committee of the Diocese for WYD, have been staying in Póvoa de Santa Iria since yesterday afternoon.”
“We have to inform you that, in fact, 6 of our people have not been with the group nor have they participated in the activities so far,” the Diocese says.
The leadership of Mindelo Diocese further says the WYD is going “marvelously well for our pilgrims.”
