Luanda, 27 August, 2023 / 8:50 pm (ACI Africa).
Archbishop José Manuel Imbamba of Angola’s Saurimo Archdiocese has challenged politicians in the Southern African nation to rethink their perception of politics.
Speaking at the start of the Second Ordinary Plenary Assembly of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST) on Wednesday, August 23, Archbishop Imbamba said, “I invite our politicians to rediscover the mystery, beauty and ethics of politics, making it a noble mission, a selfless service, for the good of the citizens, regardless of their party colors.”
The Angolan Archbishop who serves as the President of the two-nation Conference of Catholic Bishops cautioned against the focus on power, saying, “We must have the courage to make the flag of the homeland fly more than those of the political parties, which aim for power.”
“We must have the courage not to narrow down, reduce and condition the lives of citizens in political parties,” Archbishop Imbamba emphasized at the start of the August 23-28 Plenary Assembly that is bringing together representatives from the 20 Dioceses of CEAST to exam pastoral, social, economic and political issues in Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe.
He continued, “We must have the courage to demolish the ideological, cultural and axiological bases that do not generate or propagate the dignity of the human person, plural coexistence, social friendship, meritocracy and the consequent human, social, economic and cultural progress.”
