hen Ernest Bai Koroma was sworn in as president of Sierra Leone in September, Bishop George Biguzzi could have smiled, feeling like a "founding father" of the modern era of the western African nation, which has been experiencing the rush of new democratic liberty.
In a nation that serves as a "model of religious tolerance," Koroma, a Methodist, with his Muslim vice president, has already convened parliament, assembled his cabinet and has recommitted himself to stamping out government corruption. He takes over for Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, president during and then immediately after a 10-year civil war that devastated the nation and ended in 2001. Korma is the first new president of the post-conflict era.
"The Catholic Church is hopeful," said Bishop Biguzzi of the Makeni Diocese, during a visit last month to the U.S., which included stops at the Xaverian Missionaries' Provincial House on Helene Court here and nearby Our Lady of the Valley Parish, a benefactor of one of the bishop's parishes [See sidebar story]. "I'm proud. We had free, transparent and peaceful elections, overseen by a former Catholic nun, Christiana Thorpe," he said.
In the late 1990s, Bishop Biguzzi went the extra mile for peace in his war-ravaged nation, putting his own life in danger. The Italian-born bishop, also a Xaverian, had facilitated peace talks out in the bush with rebels through an inter-religious council.
"I was sacred stiff. The rebels jumped me and held me prisoner twice," Bishop Biguzzi told The Beacon during his last trip to Wayne in 2006, one of many over the years. "They threatened to kill me."
The Catholic Church is hopeful. Since the war ended, religious groups have cultivated a sense of harmony and cooperation.
The daring effort was a success and laid the groundwork of the peace that would allow for democracy to flourish in Sierra Leone. The rebels gave their arms to U.N. peacekeepers and were retrained for jobs. Catholic Relief Services, CARE, U.S. aid and the private sector have helped rebuild destroyed or damaged infrastructure and build 1,000 homes.
"There was noting left. We lost everything the Xaverians had built over 50 years," said Bishop Biguzzi, who fled to the neighbor to the north, Guinea. "The entire history of the diocese was affected. All our houses and churches were destroyed or looted. Tens of thousands of people were displaced and many lost their lives."
The mountainous, wooded region of Makeni Diocese covers half the land of northern Sierra Leone and is home to 1.7 million people, who are largely subsistence farmers. Bishop Biguzzi, a U.S. citizen, came to the nation in 1970 and was ordained head of the diocese, which has 20 parishes, about 20 years ago.
Since the war ended, religious groups have cultivated a sense of harmony and cooperation. About 90 percent of the country is Muslim, while Catholics make up to 5 percent. Today, Muslims are building 3,000 mosques, an action that has "challenged us Catholics. We too have to be just as active in presenting the true image of Jesus Christ," the bishop said.
At the end of his visit, Bishop Biguzzi implored for help with the ongoing efforts to rebuild impoverished Sierra Leone, which "has not yet achieved significant development" and where "more than half the people live on less than a dollar a day."
"There is a great demand for chapels. We need support for our priests, seminarians, catechists and charitable institutions," the bishop said. "The Church is the beacon of hope. We are grateful to all those who wish to help us."
(From The Beacon - Diocese of Paterson)