“We are particularly close to the Guinean population and in particular to those most in need following the deterioration of the general situation of the country in recent times”, says the Presidency of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, in a communiqué issued on 23 January. “In recalling the particular bond between the Italian ecclesial community and Guinea Conakry following the Church’s campaign for the reduction of the foreign debt, during the Great Jubilee of the year 2000, we wish to renew our affection and our solidarity to the bishops of that nation”, declare the Italian bishops in their statement. They add: “We encourage the efforts that the local episcopate has undertaken, together with other Christian communities, in support of a peaceful negotiation for the solution of the current conflicts”. The country’s political and economic situation is ever more precarious. A letter signed by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Conakry Vincent Coulibaly, Anglican Bishop Albert Gomez and Protestant pastor Samuel Kamano was published on 21 January, in which the three Churches appeal for a peaceful negotiation and offer their services for a possible mediation between the Government and the warring parties.
