Missionaries to stay as Pope condemns Algeria deaths

BY LUCY LETHBRIDGE
CE MURDER OF four atholic missionaries in Algeria has been condemned by the Pope as a "barbaric assassination".
The Pope, speaking in his general audience last week, asked for prayers for an end to violence in North Africa in the wake of the murder of the four Missionaries of Africa in Tizi-Ouzou on 27 December.
"I pray to God that the sacrifice of the four Religious will become the seed of reconciliation and peace and lead all to choice of dialogue and mutual understanding without which there is no future for a truly human society", said Pope John Paul H, whose words came the day after the murder.
In London, the Provincial of the Missionaries of Africa (known as the White Fathers) stressed this week that although there was considerable "concern" for members of the Order who were still in Algeria, the decision to withdraw from a country must be made by the individual community in that country. 'We have one White Father on the spot in Algeria and it is up to him", Fr John Gould told the Catholic Herald.
The victims were identified as French fathers JeanMarie Chevillard, Alain Dieulangard and Christian Chessel, and Belgian Fr Charles Deckers. The Algerian government have blamed Islamic Guerrillas for the murders, which came less than 24 hours after the killing of four Algerian fundamentalist hijackers by French commandos.
The murders brought to eight the number of Catholic missionaries killed in Algeria in 1994.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in political violence in the country since January 1992, when government authorities cancelled a general election that Islamic fundamentalists were poised to win.
The fundamentalists launched a rebellion aimed at overthrowing the government and installing an Islamic state.