Lubumbashi, 29 June, 2023 / 9:57 pm (ACI Africa).
Archbishop Fulgence Muteba Mugalu of Lubumbashi Archdiocese in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has faulted the President of the Central African nation for describing the Catholic Church as partisan and divisive.
In an interview with Jeune Afrique reported Wednesday, June 28, Archbishop Muteba clarifies the role of the Church in DRC following President Félix Tshisekedi’s June 25 claim that there is “a certain drift within the Catholic Church…A drift that I would describe as dangerous, especially in this election year.”
President Tshisekedi, who was speaking during the Silver Jubilee of Bishop Bernard-Emmanuel Kasanda of DRC’s Mbujimayi Diocese also said, “The Church must be in the middle of the village, in the middle of the Congolese people. But unfortunately, some of you have taken a dangerous turn that could divide our nation. I feel obliged to say that I will never accept such a drift.”
In the June 28 interview report, Archbishop Muteba said that Catholic Bishops in DRC are “neither a partner of the opposition nor an enemy of the regime.”
“The Congolese Bishops are not the opponents of those in power. The true enemies of this regime are corruption, bad governance, poverty, the high cost of living, the weakness of the national economy, the population's difficult access to education and healthcare and, it has to be said, a certain amateurism in the management of public affairs,” he said.