Death Penalty Degrading, “incompatible with the Gospel”: Catholic Bishops in DR Congo

They added, “God's infinite love gives every human being a dignity that even crimes cannot take away.”

“Soon we will be celebrating Easter, the pinnacle of Christian festivals. The resurrection of Jesus, the triumph of life, shows that God is against the death penalty for his Son. Nor does he allow the taking of a human life,” Catholic Bishops in DRC said. 

They urged the government to “fight against the various facets of the culture of death in our society.”

CENCO members also urged the government to abolish capital punishment for all crimes but to instead set up more effective detention systems and improve prison conditions for detainees.

The Catholic Bishops encouraged the Congolese people to train and educate themselves in the respect and promotion of human dignity, saying, “Educate children and young people by moving them from the culture of death to the culture of care and protection of life.”

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With the lifting of the moratorium in DRC, the death penalty is to be carried out following any judicial conviction for offenses that include criminal conspiracy, treason, espionage, participation in armed gangs, participation in an uprising, crimes against humanity, military conspiracy, and rebellion, among others. 

In a March 17 interview with the French-language Catholic television channel, KTO, Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo said the decision to lift a 2003 ban on the death penalty is retrogressive.

“This is a step backwards! I don't think that a responsible government can raise such an option to punish people who are called traitors,” he said, adding, “First of all, on the notion of traitors, we must first agree on what that means. And when I look at the reality here in the Congo, the great traitors to the country are precisely those in power.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.