Papal nuncio speaks of challenges to rebuilding Rwandan church

Published: 2004-06-18

KIGALI, Rwanda (CNS) -- Previously strained relations between the Catholic Church and the Rwandan government are much improved, said the new papal nuncio to Rwanda, but ethnic divisions continue to trouble the local church. Following a meeting with President Paul Kagame, Archbishop Anselmo Pecorari said he detected "a big change in the consideration of the Catholic Church here." The Tutsi-led government has frequently criticized the Catholic Church's role during the 1994 genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 Rwandans -- predominantly Tutsis and some moderate Hutus, ethnic groups with a history of rivalry -- were killed. "The president knows that some church people have done wrong things (in the genocide), but others were helpful and supportive," said Archbishop Pecorari. "Relations are much better now." In a wide-ranging interview, Pope John Paul II's ambassador to Rwanda, who arrived this spring, spoke frankly about the challenges of rebuilding the Catholic Church's authority a decade after the genocide. He said the church's "principal duty" was reconciliation between Hutus and Tutsis, but he admitted that tensions lingered even among Catholic clergy.

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