Matala - The metropolitan archbishop of Lubango, Dom Gabriel Mbilingi, asked the people in the municipality of Matala “to be vigilant and report to the authorities all those who choose to destroy public property, some of which were built with great effort by the government”.
Speaking this weekend, after a meeting with the new administrator of Matala, Manuel Quilende, Dom Mbilingi assured that he would “take into consideration the request for help made to the Church, so that it can increase awareness among the faithful and the population, with a view to preventing acts of vandalism”.
He admitted that Matala “is growing significantly” in terms of infrastructure, but also in terms of faith, judging by the number of sacraments administered by priests, nuns and catechists who “are doing a good job”, but that he hopes that this will have an impact on the behaviour of the citizens.
In Huíla, acts of vandalism are not limited to public property; the Catholic Church's heritage has also been targeted, including robberies at parishes and even on public transport.
The archbishop is on a five-day pastoral visit to the second most populous municipality in Huíla, after Lubango, with over 255,000 inhabitants and located 180 kilometres east of Lubango. MS/TED/DOJ
