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There’s “a dark spot”: Cardinal Ambongo Raises Questions on “hasty Beatification” Plans for King Baudouin of Belgium

By ACI Africa Staff

Kinshasa, 01 November, 2024 / 10:38 pm (ACI Africa).

Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo, the Local Ordinary the Catholic Archdiocese of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has raised questions about the “hasty Beatification” of King Baudouin of Belgium. 

Cardinal Ambongo, who was speaking at a media briefing in Rome days before the conclusion Synod on Synodality weighed in on Pope Francis’ September 29 surprise announcement to the thousands of participants in his Holy Mass at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels that “on my return to Rome, I will open the process for the beatification of King Baudouin.”

Amid cheers and applause from the participants in the Papal Mass, the Holy Father went on to call the late Catholic who chose to temporarily abdicate his throne rather than sign a law legalizing abortion a man of faith, who serves as an example for leaders today. 

Pope Francis also called upon Catholic Bishops in Belgium to “commit themselves” to advancing Baudouin’s canonization cause.

At the October 22 media briefing in Rome, Cardinal Ambongo said while Pope Francis’ pronouncements conform to “the wish of the Church in Belgium”, the late Catholic King of Belgium has been reportedly linked to the 1961 assassination of the pioneer Congolese Prime Minister of DRC, Patrice Lumumba.

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“There is still this file, which we can call a dark spot,” the Congolese Cardinal said in what has been described as raising “a red flag” about the announcement Pope Francis made on September 29 during his pastoral visit to Belgium.

The Congolese member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap) emphasized the need to “search in the past to see what is there”, and added in reference to the late Belgian King, “We do not know the meanders of his life.”

Cardinal Ambongo, however, expressed his openness to King Baudouin’s Beatification course “if his file evolves well.”

“For us, he (Baudouin) is a politician who has been brave in the context of Belgium; he was very brave,” the President of SECAM said, adding, “we say he was the one who gave independence to Congo.”

“If the case moves in the direction that some people want, in order to present him for Beatification, we are open to it,” Cardinal Ambongo said on October 22 on Pope Francis’ plans for the Beatification of King Baudouin.

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His more than 40-year reign, 1951–1993, reportedly marked a time of intense social, political, and religious upheaval in Belgium and the world. Despite all this change, King Baudouin is said to have carried out his duties with complete devotion to his country Belgium and his Catholic faith, serving as one of the few unifying factors in the country for which he was beloved by his people.

ACI Africa Staff

ACI Africa was founded in 2019. We provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, giving particular emphasis to the words of the Holy Father and happenings of the Holy See, to any person with access to the internet. ACI Africa is proud to offer free access to its news items to Catholic dioceses, parishes, and websites, in order to increase awareness of the activities of the universal Church and to foster a sense of Catholic thought and culture in the life of every Catholic.

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