There is need to adopt a common local language for use during liturgical celebrations in the Catholic Diocese of Cabinda, the Local Ordinary of the Angolan Episcopal See has said.
Speaking at Our Lady Queen of the World Cathedral of Cabinda Diocese on Palm Sunday, March 24, Bishop Belmiro Cuica Chissengueti said, “If each village imposes its own language, we'll never have a single language again. If we don't have a common element of unity, which is language, we will easily be destroyed.”
“For this reason, there has to be an effort on the part of everyone, readers and listeners, to build a language that unites the people of Cabinda,” Bishop Chissengueti added.
The Angolan member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CSSp/Spiritans/Holy Ghost Fathers), who has been at the helm of Cabinda Diocese since his Episcopal Consecration in September 2018 said a common liturgical language would foster unity in the diversity of the people of God in Angola at the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Congo Brazzaville.
“I know there are variations in native languages; there's Mangoyo, Dinge, Zenze, Maiombe, Auto Sundi and others,” he said, and added, “If we don’t take action, those who come to work in Cabinda Diocese will be forced to learn two or more languages.”
To address the challenges the Local Church, there is need to go beyond the confines of the village and take into account the region of Cabinda as a whole, the Bishop of Cabinda Diocese, who doubles as the Chairman of the Episcopal Commission for youth, university ministry and Scouting of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST) said.
“We as a Church have to build the language that unites all these people,” Bishop Chissenguet, emphasized.