Vatican – Pope Leo XIV has expressed sorrow over the shooting of the Mozambican bishop of Quelimane and apostolic administrator of Beira, Bishop Osório Citora Afonso.
Bishop Citora Afonso was found dead on June 6 at his residence with a gunshot wound in the chest, an act which the Pope conveyed on the Holy See Press Office Telegram channel, referring to it as a “serious act of violence”.
The Pope’s statement briefly said that he “joins in prayer with the people of the dioceses and of Mozambique in this time of bewilderment, asking the Lord to grant them consolation, to keep every man and woman in His love, and to stay the hand of the violent.” 
The Mozambican National Criminal Investigation Service has understandably opened an investigation. The shooter is as yet unknown, and the motive of the murder is yet to be shared.
