Agenzia Fides REPORT - “There haven't been any bombs in Tripoli for two days. The situation is dire due to the lack of food and petrol but at least things are a bit calmer. Perhaps they realised that however much they try to hit military targets with precision, it is impossible not to hit civilians. I understand the intentions of the bombing, but that's not how you solve the crisis,” Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, Vicar Apostolic of Tripoli, tells Fides.
“I think that the will to negotiate is strengthening, although there are still several obstacles to overcome. I appeal once more to the African Union and also to Europe to step up peace efforts. The people are tired of war and the bombings,” says Bishop Martinelli. In the past few days, some emissaries from the Libyan regime travelled to some European capitals to seek a political solution to the crisis.
Bishop Martinelli recounts two episodes which, in his view, demonstrate the willingness of the Libyans to find a peaceful solution: “Two women, who spoke excellent Italian because they had studied in a Catholic school, came to me saying that the Church must help to reconcile the Libyan people.” The Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli also says he learned “from a religious sister working in Yafran, that the rebel forces would withdraw after having reached a local agreement of reconciliation.”
Bishop Martinelli expresses his concern about the areas in Libya which are still marked by fighting, particularly Misurata “where there is fighting and we don't know how the Filipino Catholic community there is holding up. Communications are also difficult with Bengasi. In Tripoli the life of the Church continues despite many problems. Yesterday 2 April, we celebrated two Masses which were well attended by the faithful.”
According to Bishop Martinelli, the 70 Eritrean castaways found dead on the beach in Tripoli “after they were brought to the city morgue, were buried in the Christian cemetery. The morgue is full of the bodies of people killed in the fighting and bombing. It was decided to bury those poor people as quickly as possible.”
“I think that the will to negotiate is strengthening, although there are still several obstacles to overcome. I appeal once more to the African Union and also to Europe to step up peace efforts. The people are tired of war and the bombings,” says Bishop Martinelli. In the past few days, some emissaries from the Libyan regime travelled to some European capitals to seek a political solution to the crisis.
Bishop Martinelli recounts two episodes which, in his view, demonstrate the willingness of the Libyans to find a peaceful solution: “Two women, who spoke excellent Italian because they had studied in a Catholic school, came to me saying that the Church must help to reconcile the Libyan people.” The Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli also says he learned “from a religious sister working in Yafran, that the rebel forces would withdraw after having reached a local agreement of reconciliation.”
Bishop Martinelli expresses his concern about the areas in Libya which are still marked by fighting, particularly Misurata “where there is fighting and we don't know how the Filipino Catholic community there is holding up. Communications are also difficult with Bengasi. In Tripoli the life of the Church continues despite many problems. Yesterday 2 April, we celebrated two Masses which were well attended by the faithful.”
According to Bishop Martinelli, the 70 Eritrean castaways found dead on the beach in Tripoli “after they were brought to the city morgue, were buried in the Christian cemetery. The morgue is full of the bodies of people killed in the fighting and bombing. It was decided to bury those poor people as quickly as possible.”
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