Luanda — The Head of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST), Dom José Manuel Imbamba, advocated on Monday (10) in Luanda for the strengthening of institutional dialogue and a greater focus on citizenship education.
In statements to the press following an audience with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Adão de Almeida, he stated that this aims to consolidate peace and social coexistence.
The religious leader noted that the main objective of the audience was to coordinate ideas on how to positively influence political and social leaderships in promoting a culture of coexistence, pluralism, and social friendship.
According to him, it is necessary to continue creating platforms for dialogue that allow citizens to find themselves and contribute to healthy coexistence.
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The religious leader also took the opportunity to thank the National Assembly Speaker for a gesture directed at one of the institutions he represents during his trip to Saurimo, province of Lunda-Sul.
However, the Archbishop of the Diocese of Lunda-Sul underlined that the main purpose of the meeting was to analyse what the two institutions can do to contribute to improvements in the social environment.
He expressed concern over the growth in rates of violence, stressing that "one cannot defend any form of violence, intolerance, or behaviour that threatens peace and social coexistence".
"Violence cannot be our banner 50 years after our Independence. We must evolve and take a qualitative leap in the way we coexist and build the Nation," he stated.
For this reason, José Manuel Imbamba advocated greater investment in citizen training.
The religious also appealed to the National Assembly to continue serving as an example of dialogue and coexistence among the different political forces, arguing that parties should be factors of convergence of ideas rather than division or social disintegration.
Regarding the national reconciliation process, he considered that the main challenge involves a change of mindset, the creation of new cultural, ideological, and coexistence paradigms capable of valuing the diversity of ideas as an asset for building the country.
Finally, he also announced that the book resulting from the Reconciliation Congress has already been published and that a campaign to distribute the work at political party headquarters will begin, with the aim of contributing to understanding among Angolans and the transformation of society.
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