The pope's representative in Angola called for an end to accusations of witchcraft laid against children, some of whom have been tortured. Now leaving Angola, Bishop Angelo Becciu will go now to Cuba, another country beset with occult practices.
Cuba????
I thought that Cuba was all atheisty and rationalisticy.
From the article:
The outgoing papal representative in Angola and Sao Tome & Principe, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, has called for an end to witchcraft accusations against children. During a mass marking the 124th anniversary of the Santa Ana Church in Caxito, the Nuncio affirmed that, "the charges are a frequent practice on the African continent and they must be eliminated", According to the state news agency ANGOP.
Reports say the although most Angolans say they are Catholic, belief in witchcraft is widespread in a country recovering from an almost three-decade long civil war and where an estimated two thirds of the population are poor.
Children are accused of witchcraft, resulting in their abuse, abandonment and, in some cases, death. It appears more frequently among the Bakongo people, concentrated in the Uige, Zaire and Cabinda provinces in northern Angola. The situation is becoming of grave concern as atrocities against children increase by the year. Last year 40 children were rescued from the premises of a group calling itself the Evangelical Church of Traditional Healing.
State media reported the children, some just babies, had been made to fast for 15 days, had been burned on their arms and had perfume poured in their eyes. The Angolan government says it is taking the problem seriously and there has been much public discussion about these so-called sects which are often, according to state media reports, linked to Congolese immigrants.