Belgian priest's arrest in Rwanda forces more questions on genocide

Published: 2005-09-09

KIGALI, Rwanda (CNS) -- The arrest of a Belgian missionary at the Kigali airport on charges that he incited people to kill in the 1994 genocide has forced the church to answer more questions about the role of its members in the slaughter. Father Guy Theunis, a member of the Missionaries of Africa, was picked up at the Kigali airport Sept. 8 on his way back to Belgium from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Missionaries of Africa work within the parish system in Rwanda and report to Rwandan bishops. "For the moment the church is concerned about Father Theunis, but we are waiting for the official version for the reason for his arrest," said Father Emmanuel Ntabomenyereye, assistant secretary-general of the Rwandan bishops' conference. "But at the same time we address the same message of solidarity to our religious congregations. For the moment, we don't know what he did." Father Theunis is alleged to have reprinted for a wide audience articles from the anti-Tutsi newspaper Kangura. He faces trial in front of a Kigali Gacaca court, one of the traditional courts set up to prosecute the majority of genocide suspects.

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