In a pastoral letter for the first liturgical memorial of four Congolese martyrs, who include three members of Xaverian missionaries and a Priest, Bishop Muyengo emphasized that peace is inseparable from human development.
In the message on the inaugural liturgical memorial, on November 28, of the four missionaries beatified on 18 August 2024 as “Witnesses of Fraternity,” the Congolese Bishop said their example of self-giving and brotherhood stands in stark contrast to a national context marked by war, brutality, and the plunder of natural resources.
“In this difficult time marked by wars, violence, killings, and also the shameless looting of the country’s resources—resources meant to make us all happy in a land where God has provided everything necessary—we must admit that the crisis we are experiencing is a crisis of fraternity,’ the Catholic Church leader said, and added, “This is the situation in which we find ourselves today in our country, especially in its eastern part.”
“We must truly ask ourselves what has become of our fraternity, our solidarity which, as Saint John Paul II said, is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of many people, both near and far,” Bishop Muyengo said.The Bishop lamented that for more than 30 years, DRC had engaged in wars, while other nations, “including some who are waging war against us” had advanced significantly.
“We continue to stagnate. There can be no true peace without sufficient bread,” the Local Ordinary of Uvira said.
He said that because of conflicts, all structures in DRC meant to meet the people’s vital needs, including banks, marketplaces, and industries, have been closed, and that those that remain open are at risk of being looted or vandalized.
“Roads are becoming impassable, when they are not choked with illegal checkpoints that extort already impoverished populations. Added to this is the tragedy of climate change, which raises lake waters, swallowing homes, causing floods and landslides,” Bishop Muyengo lamented.
He found it regrettable that authorities, instead of mobilizing human, material, financial, and strategic resources, waste time signing agreements that do not seem to guarantee the sovereignty, territorial integrity, stability, or independent management of the country’s resources.
Bishop Muyengo invited all parties to the Congolese conflicts to join the Social Pact for Peace and Harmonious Coexistence, initiated by members of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) to find, through an inclusive dialogue, ways and means to end the crisis that he said had dragged on and which he said is now jeopardizing the entire future of the country.
In December 2023, the late Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of Fr. Luigi Carrara, Fr. Giovanni Didonè, and Fr. Vittorio Faccin, all Italian-born Xaverian Missionary Priests, who served in the DRC. They were martyred by anti-religious guerrillas in the Kwilu Rebellion in 1964.
Meanwhile, Fr. Albert Joubert, a local Diocesan Priest born to a French father and African mother, was killed alongside the three Xaverian Missionary Priests.
Bishop Muyengo described the four as “evangelical witnesses of fraternity”, and implored, “Let us pray through their intercession that God may convert our hearts, especially those of our leaders, to true fraternity, which is the guarantee of just and lasting peace, and the place of forgiveness and celebration where we work and live together, sharing our daily bread.”