“If this day you only knew what makes for peace…” (Lk 19: 42)
The Catholic Church in Eswatini is greatly saddened by the violence that has been causing havoc in our country. This violence shows great disregard for human life, human dignity and respect for one’s rights.
The destruction of property can never be a solution to our problems. The use of force and violence by the security forces is unacceptable and deeply hurts the image of those who have been called to protect the life of those who live in this country.
The Church does not and cannot accept violence nor can she accept calls for more violence or revenge for she knows that violence always provokes violence, death, hate in our relationships and destruction. No future of peace can ever be built on the foundation of violence.
“Can violence achieve any goal of lasting value? Or does it merely lead to retaliation and a cycle of deadly conflicts that benefit only a few “warlords”? Violence is not the cure for our broken world” (Pope Francis, 01 January 2017)
May God grant eternal life to all those who have died, consolation to their families and healing to all of us.
