Benedictine Sisters close facilities in Kenyan region due to violence
By Kielce Gussie
The doors of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of the Sacred Heart Priory have closed in Kenya's Kerio Valley, following an overwhelming amount of violence in the area.
The sisters announced the news on their social media, saying the closure of the mission is “with immediate effect” and “indefinitely.”
According to the Vatican's Fides news agency, Sister Rosa Pascal OSB, the Prioress of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters, signed the announcement, explaining the decision was taken “following the murder of Fr. Alloy Bett and the ongoing violence in the region.”
The Prioress described how the unrest has impacted the missionaries’ work, causing “mental, emotional, and psychological trauma to our sisters.”
Consequently, the Benedictine Missionary Sisters are unable “to run the essential services due to the lack of staff who are fleeing the area.”
For the foreseeable future
Sr. Pascal shared that the decision means closing the “mission stations indefinitely, until the area is safe for service.” She stated the closure “is meant to ensure the safety of our sisters working in the region, our employees, and those who visit our mission for different services.”
Moreover, the sisters hope this decision will “press the government for a lasting solution to peace in the area, including disarming civilians.” This decision also includes the closure of the Chesongoch Mission Hospital.
Unrest in the area
The closures comes after two priests were killed just days apart. Fr. John Ndegwa Maina, parish priest of the church of St. Louis in Igwamiti, died in hospital on May 15 from an alleged poisoning, after being found in critical condition on the side of a highway.
Seven days later, on May 22, Fr. Alloyce Cheruiyot Bett was shot and killed after being attacks by bandits in the Kerio Valley.
Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, Archbishop of Kisumu and President of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), called for an inquiry into these deaths “to reveal the real circumstances and motives, to ensure the security and safety of our priests and all Kenyans in the future."
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