After praying the Angelus, the Pope recalled the “confrontations and massacres” in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and called on national authorities and the international community to “safeguard the lives of civilians.”
Vatican News
At the end of the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis once again directed his attention and prayer to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which he visited between January and February 2023, recalling that “painful news of clashes and massacres in the east of the country continues to arrive.” “.
“I call on national authorities and the international community to do everything possible to stop the violence and safeguard the lives of civilians. Among the victims, many are Christians murdered in odium fidei. They are martyrs. His sacrifice is a seed that germinates and bears fruit, and teaches us to bear witness to the Gospel with courage and consistency.”
Yesterday at least seven people died in riots in the province of North Kivu, after the population took to the streets to protest the increase in deadly attacks by rebels calling themselves jihadists. And in the week that just ended, the Allied Democratic Forces (FAD), a group affiliated with the Islamic State, reportedly killed more than 40 people in an attack against the village of Mayikengo and more than 80 in attacks against other villages in the province. The last week.
Prayer for peace and memory of Blessed Rapacz
Next, the Pope invited people not to stop praying “for peace in Ukraine, in the Holy Land, in Sudan, Myanmar and wherever there are people suffering from war.” Shortly before, he had recalled that yesterday, in Krakow, in a ceremony presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, in the sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Łagiewniki, Michael Rapacz, priest and martyr, was beatified. and had described him as “a pastor after the heart of Christ, a faithful and generous witness of the Gospel who experienced both Nazi and Soviet persecution, and responded with the gift of his life.”
