The Only Priest in Afghanistan
Posted by Guest. Filed in Chaplains, Information |
Father Giuseppe Moretti heads a Catholic congregation in a most unusual location. Father Moretti, age 71, is the only Roman Catholic priest in Afghanistan. His congregation meets in a small white building inside the Italian Embassy in Kabul.
According to the Vatican, there are just 250 Catholics in Afghanistan. Father Moretti said about 150 people regularly attend Mass inside the embassy. All are members of the international community. He recalled that Gen. Dan McNeil, former commander of U.S. forces and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, was among the regular Mass attendees.
Father Moretti first arrived in Afghanistan in 1977, two years before an invasion by the former Soviet Union touched off a generation of fighting. When the war between the Soviets and the Afghan Muslim fighters known as mujahedeen ended in 1982, it was quickly followed by a civil war that raged throughout the 1990s. In 1994, the embassy was attacked and Father Moretti was shot. He survived, but he left the country.
After American forces drove the Taliban from Kabul in 2001, Pope John Paul II asked Father Moretti to return.
Now, as U.S. soldiers move into Afghanistan and the country prepares for its second presidential election, Afghans are rebuilding their lives.After having seen so much upheaval during his tenure, Father Moretti is very cautious when he speaks about the future of Afghanistan.
“We hope. Our dream is peace, real peace, and if there is peace, there is democracy. Democracy in Afghanistan is a hard journey,” he said.
For more information about Father Moretti, click here
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Tags: Afghanistan, priest
