Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Mar 7, 2011 / 23:10 pm
Catholic bishops and other religious leaders have condemned the Feb. 25 destruction of two mosques in Ivory Coast, with a warning that the country's political struggle must not become a religious conflict.
Archbishop Ambrose Madtha, the Apostolic Nuncio of Ivory Coast, joined Bishop Salomon Lezoutie of Yopougon and other religious leaders in a visit to several mosques, seeking to show the Church's commitment to inter-religious peace in the embattled country.
Supporters of Laurent Gbagbo—who recently lost the presidential election—have reportedly burned down two mosques in Yopougon, a neighborhood in the city of Abidjan, as part of a campaign intended to terrorize supporters of his political rival Alassane Ouattara.
Gbagbo, a Catholic, has refused to give up the country's presidency despite losing to the Muslim candidate Ouattara in Ivory Coast's November 2010 election. The Catholic Church in Ivory Coast has insisted that the country's conflict is not religious in nature and should not lead to sectarian violence.