Catholic Bishops in Rwanda, Burundi Express Solidarity with the Congolese amid Insecurity

DRC has been experiencing violent clashes in the East, particularly in the Ituri, Kasai, and Kivu regions, Global Conflict Tracker has reported.

Dozens of armed groups are believed to operate in the Eastern region of the Central African nation despite the presence of more than 16,000 UN peacekeepers.

On November 14, the Local Ordinary of DRC’s Wamba Diocese announced a peaceful march against insecurity in the Eastern region of the country to be undertaken by his Episcopal See.

“By this peaceful march, we are going to show the world that we are fed up with the repetitive wars in the east of the country,” Bishop Janvier Kataka Luvete said in reference to the march scheduled for December 4.

He added, “It is also a way of expressing our attachment to the unity and integrity of the national territory.”

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The Congolese Bishop further said, “We must show that those who are in the East of the neighboring countries of the DRC, and all those who are in cahoots with the aggressors of Ituri, are in complicity with the destabilization of our country.”

On November 10, Catholic Bishops in DRC expressed concern about insecurity in the country and called for collective action to restore peace.

In their collective statement, members of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) highlighted cases of insecurity recorded in the country in recent times and called for collective responsibility in view of restoring peace in the country. 

“We are concerned about the deterioration of security in our country and moved by our prophetic mission, sound the alarm on the danger that our country is facing and on the responsibility of all of us,” CENCO members said in their message issued at the end of their November 7-9 Extraordinary Plenary Assembly in Kinshasa.

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.