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KENYA-DISPLACED Mar-26-2008 (350 words) xxxi
Church leaders express need to resettle internally displaced Kenyans
By Francis Njuguna
Catholic News Service
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) -- Kenyan Catholic leaders expressed the importance of resettling internally displaced people in an effort to return the country to normalcy.
Nairobi Cardinal John Njue said the church is urging the government to prioritize resettling the internally displaced people as part of its wider implementation of the peace and power-sharing accord between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Such resettlement should aim at establishing a permanent solution to current problems, the cardinal said at an Easter Mass March 23 in Holy Family Basilica.
The church already has made its contributions through humanitarian aid, "and we would equally be ready to contribute toward the establishment of a permanent solution to the issues" of displaced Kenyans and peace, the cardinal said.
In an Easter message released March 20, Bishop Peter Kairo of Nakuru, head of the Kenyan bishops' justice and peace commission, said the country is filled "with hope that the peace agreement signed by our political leaders will hold."
"It is now our duty to begin the process of healing and reaching out to our neighbors," he said. "But as we celebrate the newly found peace we must not forget the suffering of those displaced."
Bishop Kairo called for assistance for internally displaced people and urged Kenyans to forgive each other.
"Dear brothers and sisters, we must come together in prayer and promise never to let such atrocities be committed against one another," he said. "Let us allow our neighbors to come back and occupy their lands, start preparing the farms for the planting season to avert a famine outbreak and allow the children to go back to school."
In the violence following Kenya's disputed Dec. 27 elections, more than 300,000 people fled their homes, and many homes were burned and destroyed.
Many of the victims moved into the nearest church, police station or school compound, where government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and churches fed, clothed and settled them. While some Kenyans have returned home, many remain in such temporary shelters.
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Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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