Pope: May blood of ‘martyrs' in DRC church attack become seed of peace
File photo of the aftermath of violence in the DRC (AFP or licensors)
'May the blood of these martyrs become a seed of peace, reconciliation, fraternity, and love for the Congolese people,' the Pope writes in his message following a brutal attack on a Catholic Church in Komanda town in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nearly 40 people were killed Sunday in eastern Congo's Ituri province when rebels stormed a Catholic church during a vigil and opened fire on worshippers.
At least 38 people, including women and children, were confirmed dead in the church, while another five were killed in a nearby village.
In a telegram addressed to Archbishop Mugalu, President of the Congolese Bishops' Conference on the Pope's behalf, Cardinal Pietro Parolin says, 'His Holiness Pope Leo XIV learned with dismay and deep sorrow of the attack perpetrated against the Parish of Blessed Anuarite in Komanda, which caused the death of several faithful gathered for worship.'
This tragedy, he continues, 'calls us even more urgently to work for the integral human development of the martyred population of that region.'
Concluding the telegram, Pope Leo XIV imparts his Apostolic Blessing upon the Parish of Blessed Anuarite, the mourning families, the faithful of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the entire nation.
Extremist militias
According to Congolese authorities, the attacks in Komanda town in the conflict-battered region were carried out by the Allied Democratic Force, a rebel group backed by the Islamic State that has mostly targeted villagers in eastern Congo and across the border in Uganda.
The ADF has roots in Uganda in the 1990s. Following the overthrow of long-term dictator Idi Amin, a coalition of various discontent groups saw the new government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni as anti-Muslim. Since then, the group has grown into a potent force but has been pushed out of Uganda's territories and now operates in the borderlands between Uganda and Congo, often targeting civilians in remote villages.--Vatican News
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