African bishops oppose closing borders in fight against Ebola

October 22, 2014

"The closing of borders is not the solution to Ebola,” the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) said in a statement released to the Fides news agency.

Concluding a meeting in Doula, Cameroon, the SECAM bishops acknowledged the suffering of Ebola victims and of the countries where the epidemic has been particularly widespread. They called for action to help the victims and to find a medical means of stopping the spread of the disease.

On a separate issue, the SECAM bishops said that a “refusal of democratic turnover” has caused tensions in some African countries, and called for “the observance of the constitution and democratic turnover.” The statement was apparently aimed at the Democratic Republic of Congo, where supporters of President Joseph Kabila are pushing for a constitutional amendment that would allow Kabila to serve a 3rd term. The country’s existing constitution specifically prohibits amendments that would abolish the presidential term limit.

 

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Further information:

• African Catholic Bishops: "Respect democratic turnover" (Fides)
• USCCB urges US government to back Congo’s bishops on constitutional revision (CWN, 10/21)