Question: Excellency, is this the first time you set foot in a country of honest men?
Answer: No, this is not my first visit ... It is rather the second. I came first in 1997, our African association of Catholic commentators wanted to make a tribute to Cardinal Paul Zoungrana for the good he had done at the Episcopal Conference pan-African. We came so we meet in Ouagadougou in 97 on the theme "Church family of God, exegetical perspective." So we gave mixtures of the Congress to Cardinal Zoungrana which we welcome.
Q. What do you remember of Burkina?
R. I was pleasantly surprised during my first visit because when I arrived at the airport, is the abbot Compaore who greeted me took me to seminary which he was the rector at the time and he told me to leave my luggage in the car because no one will touch it. So I left my suitcase, my briefcase containing diplomatic money and all my papers in the car, but I was still not quiet because if I was flying my papers that I was going to cause problems.
He reassured me that nobody would touch it and left the car completely open. We went to the canteen for a drink that lasted about an hour and we came back. Nobody had touched either the car or my bag. It affected me.
Q. You, Archbishop of Kinshasa as a great capital, how to find - you Ouagadougou?
R. Ouagadougou has its charm. Obviously, it's smaller that Kinshasa is a city size, with 2 million inhabitants, I was told. Kinshasa is now at 10 million 250 thousand inhabitants, in different proportions. First, the country is half a continent and therefore it is much bigger and has the capital it deserves, but obviously with a lot more problems of organization, movement, population. It is not easy to manage, but each has its charm.
Q. What motivated you to agree to sponsor the 4th edition of the Social Weeks of Burkina?
R. When organizers announced me that I was chosen as co-sponsor of the Social Weeks of Burkina, I was reluctant to come forward because this month I had lots of special commitments. Bs insisted that I do and I found it a valuable service to render and that's why I'm here to make it and I'm glad you did.
Q. Compared to This year's theme (1 ), do you really think that the Church's social doctrine is compatible with the political commitment of a Christian?
R. Absolutely! I am convinced that the political commitment of the Christian blends in with the social doctrine of the Church. If the Christian wants to be consistent in his faith and wants to have as reference the social doctrine of the church, chances are he succeeds in life because this doctrine has the source: the Christian revelation has human reason and especially the experience of the Church is addressed to everyone because it is based on natural law. If one follows, there are ways that even people who are not Christians, Muslims or people of traditional religion rule well their state and their country.
Q. But is this only encourage Christians to engage politically, it is not exposed to much more temptation and especially to open the gates of hell with the political?
R. No, the first thing politics is not hell, is service. If everyone went into politics to serve, there would be no reason to believe that it hell. It was learned that the Christian is consistent with his Christian life to the bad practices of politics are not his. There are of course difficulties in politics, but nothing is easy in life. Naturally, there are difficulties everywhere, even in the lives of teachers, priests, in married life, and so on. The political life certainly demand a certain skill, charisma and a certain ability to engage in them, but this is not hell.
Furthermore there is at several levels: there is the highest office, there are those who make the laws, there are those who are in government and there are also civil society, which manage all politics. It is a versatile concept and multifaceted task, but that harmonize with the fact that they have the same goal which is that of servicing the nation.
Q. Bishop, you have yourself to say in 2004 that you n'enviiez not political power and your ecclesiastical power was 1000 times higher than politics, but what do you think of churchmen who blend the politics, as the Archbishop Emeritus of Douala, Christian Tumi Archbishop?
R. One must be cautious at this level. There are several ways of doing politics. At the time of Aristotle, there were those who made policy, but by defining the role and task policies. Currently there are political scientists who also define the policy and practice of politics. There are also those who take power and wield it. Bishops, clergymen whose mission is to ensure that society, the people entrusted to them, have no future danger, they should talk about political issues they discuss in full view of the doctrine of the Church. But to take the power to exercise it, no, it is not their role. And as I said, I'm perfectly happy in my ecclesiastical office and I'm convinced that is a thousand times better than political power. But I respect politicians because they have a feature where you can be holy, because they handle all property of the people, but this is not a vocation for which I have campaigned since I have not been called that, but rather something else.
Q. In your country, you were asked to chair the Transitional Council and the National Sovereign Conference. Nearly 20 years later, what remains of all this?
R. Sovereign National Conference has done a great job we axes 916 of the conference on all aspects of national life. It is a mine of information and it was wrong not to continue its momentum, but the rest sure this is a mine that could inspire the country later 1'aider and more. There are some who were not prepared to follow the Conference on its momentum and it was wrong to keep the country in a line opposite to that of the National Conference which asked that no one ever takes power by force of arms; we did and why it's a bit we're spinning in circles.
Q. After the end of Mobutu's reign in 1997, DR Congo was the scene of rebellions and crises. In your opinion, how can we solve these problems permanently?
Q. Recently (2 ) you have requested the release of 51 prisoners convicted for the assassination of Laurent Désiré Kabila. Is this a condition for reconciliation?
R. First it is a matter of justice, there is no reason why many are in prison while the trial had shown that there had dark areas that should continue to be clarified. That is, why I asked whether we make a trial whether they be freed. It was only fair.
Q. But the Congolese have qualified your statement of "unacceptable interference". ( 3) What is your opinion?
R. This is not an intrusion. I did not interfere in politics. Justice was not fully known, it was normal to say the right and we have no reason to be afraid to do so. The justice must be said.
Q. Rwanda has recently seen genocide charges hanging over him and tried to blackmail. This country is it not the troublemaker of the Great Lakes?
R. There are many players that are handled in our region, there is not that Rwanda is that there are other countries too. It first asks that Rwanda hold a national conference in her womb for reconciliation within apparently he launches into this perspective and this could best - walk. We also ask that in Congo, inside, ethnic arrive to reconcile and actually carry the weight of the past in a process of peace.
This has been tried through the Amani commissions, but they have not quite worked. But not everything can be arranged by the justice, and reconciliation. But for there to be reconciliation, we must kill the hate, as he says in the Epistle to the Hebrews "Christ the enmity between ethnic groups.
Q. Many African countries are characterized by political turmoil. What is the reason you think?
R. There is turbulence because yal'égoïsme. Avoid selfishness and we need politicians know they must pursue the common good and justice and peace will only come if they remember that earthly goods are meant for everyone and everything everyone should be able to benefit.
They must remember that there is a solidarity between all citizens. The law of subsidiarity requires us to walk so that the various social bodies may arrive to supplement and join hands and do not let the upper body do its job and the lower bodies are not theirs.
It is this harmony of the different levels of social bodies that we will manage to help a country to live harmoniously. Obviously, there must be, as the said Pope John XXIII, the 4 pillars of society are justice, peace, love and especially the truth.
Q. African countries are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of their just independence this year, Bishop, what have we done with our 50 years of independence.
R. Much has been made, much the same. Do not take our 50 years of independence as a monolithic bloc. If I take, by example, my country, we have trained a lot of intellectuals in our own ways, we learned to run a country. Europe was not built in 50 years, it has taken centuries and so we build our country and we are the masters of our business. The history of our country is not easy because we were delivered into the hands of a single country and the greatest good for that matter, is that we are free now and that we are masters of our destiny, which was not the case before. We must learn to lead, to master the workings of a country in a world that is going at breakneck speed and we do.
It is also admirable that our countries come gradually to organize themselves this way. Certainly there are errors, the international community does not assist either. But we must not discourage us, go ahead, take our destiny in our hands and we'll see what happens.
Q. Today, many African leaders are suffering from so-called "tripatouillite" acute, that is to say that there is a disease that causes them to mess with the Constitution of their country to go on forever power. What is your opinion?
R. Burkinabe bishops have already taken a position in this field (4 ) and I have nothing to add that.
Q. Does this mean that you have the same view that the bishops of the Episcopal Conference Burkina Niger?
R. Yes
Q. Some believe that the Church is by definition the house all the sheep, it does not take positions as clear cut the risk of dividing his own children. What do you think?
R. No, the Church knows how to stand up for her children do not divide and they are divided, is that they misunderstand the texts of the Church.
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