MEETING OF BISHOPS OF GREAT LAKES REGION

VATICAN CITY, DEC 17, 1996 (VIS) - The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has planned a meeting for the bishops of the African Great Lakes Region for December 18-21 in Nairobi, Kenya, under the presidency of Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, according to a communique published today.

"Participating will be all the bishops of Burundi and Rwanda, some of the bishops of Zaire and representatives of the episcopal conferences of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

"The meeting is intended to facilitate above all joint reflection among the bishops of a region going through a very grave crisis, due to the tragic consequences for the population. In the face of the enormous problems that such a context raises on the social level, the meeting aims essentially at analyzing the situation in order to identify priorities of a pastoral nature and the needs of the particular Churches.

"The meeting," concludes the communique, "also seeks to be a sign of that ecclesial unity capable of overcoming the damage caused by conflicts and thus contribute to reconciliation."
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