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DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Condemnation of factionsNuncio speaks out
The papal nuncio in the Democratic Republic of Congo has issued a strong statement of support for the country’s population, saying that the people are “innocent victims of unjustifiable violence, unleashed by irresponsible leaders of armed groups against a defenseless population.”
The statement by Archbishop Francisco Javier Lozano encouraged world leaders to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Congo, “who are suffering because of fighting between armed factions who have no regard for human rights, the safety of citizens, or respect for property.”
The unusual message from the Pope’s representative came as a requiem Mass was being celebrated for the latest victims of fighting in the northeast of the country. That region has been the focus of particularly intense and vicious battles between competing factions, with each side claiming armed support from the armies of the country’s African neighbors.
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