Congolese archbishop: U.S. Catholics must seek peace, share wealth

Published: 2008-04-03

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A Congolese archbishop expressed his desire for stability in his country and discussed the responsibility of American Catholics to fight for peace and share their wealth. "We work in the context of the absence of peace," said Archbishop Francois Maroy Rusengo of Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo. "It is urgent for peace to be brought to Congo. ... It is very hard to initiate works and acts in the absence of peace." Archbishop Maroy, whose archdiocese is in war-torn northeastern Congo, told Catholic News Service April 1 that he cannot be sure when he is teaching about the faith if he actually is "reaching the people" because of the situation in which they live. "People have been traumatized," he said, and his challenge is the "reconstruction of people after 10 years of instability and war." Archbishop Maroy spoke to CNS through a translator while he was in Washington to meet with officials from the U.S. bishops' Office of International Justice and Peace. He spoke with State Department officials April 2 and congressional officials the following day to express his appreciation for the support the U.S. has given the emerging democracy and to ask for more assistance. Bukavu's proximity to Rwanda and the region's mineral wealth have contributed to the ongoing violence. Archbishop Maroy described the complex geopolitical situation: In 1994 as the ethnic genocide of Tutsis by Hutus in Rwanda escalated, a surge of Tutsi refugees flooded the already unstable, impoverished eastern Congo. When the Rwandan war ended, the refugees left, only to be replaced by Rwandan Hutu militias and Rwandan troops. Although a peace accord was signed and eventually elections were held in 2006, Archbishop Maroy said Congolese and Rwandan militias, fighting for mineral wealth and power, remain and cause even more suffering today.

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