By EDMUND KAGIRE
In Summary
A statement released by the Vatican notes that:
- The Pope conveyed his profound sadness, and that of the Holy See and of the Church, for the Genocide against the Tutsi.
- He expressed his solidarity with the victims and with those who continue to suffer the ...consequences of those tragic events
- He implored anew God’s forgiveness for the sins and failings of the Church and its members
The meeting between Pope Francis and Rwandan President Paul
Kagame last week, in which the Pope acknowledged the church’s failures
in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, has ended more than two decades
of disagreement.
Pope Francis, the global head of the Roman Catholic Church,
invited President Kagame to the Vatican for the meeting held on March
20, during which the pontiff admitted the church’s shortcomings during
the genocide.
At the meeting, Pope Francis made statements that amounted to an
apology — which Kigali had been demanding for 22 years — about the
documented involvement of the Roman Catholic Church clergy and believers
in massacres that took place in churches across the country.
READ: Pope, Kagame meet to quell tensions
“The Pope conveyed his profound sadness, and that of the Holy See and of the Church, for the Genocide against the Tutsi,” a statement released by the Vatican said.
“The Pope conveyed his profound sadness, and that of the Holy See and of the Church, for the Genocide against the Tutsi,” a statement released by the Vatican said.
“He expressed his solidarity with the victims and with those who
continue to suffer the consequences of those tragic events and, evoking
the gesture of Pope St John Paul II during the Great Jubilee of the
Year 2000, he implored anew God’s forgiveness for the sins and failings
of the Church and its members, among whom are priests, and religious men
and women who succumbed to hatred and violence, betraying their own
evangelical mission,” the statement added.
The Pope’s apology followed an earlier one by the Roman Catholic
Church in Rwanda in November 2016, which the government rejected and
termed “inadequate.”
The meeting at the Vatican seems to have buried the hatchet
between the Rwandan government and the Roman Catholic Church, which
escalated at the end of 2016 when President Kagame questioned why the
Pope had not apologised for the thousands killed inside churches.
New chapter
President Kagame said the meeting with the Pontiff marked the beginning of a “new chapter in relations between Rwanda and Catholic Church/Holy See.”
“Being able to acknowledge/apologise for wrongs in circumstance/cases like this is an act of courage and moral high standing typical @Pontifex,” he tweeted.
“We will all be better for it,” he added.
President Kagame said the meeting with the Pontiff marked the beginning of a “new chapter in relations between Rwanda and Catholic Church/Holy See.”
“Being able to acknowledge/apologise for wrongs in circumstance/cases like this is an act of courage and moral high standing typical @Pontifex,” he tweeted.
“We will all be better for it,” he added.
An earlier statement released by Foreign Affairs Minister Louise
Mushikiwabo indicated that the Vatican and Rwanda had come close to
resolving the long-standing matter.
Ms Mushikiwabo said the meeting last week was indicative of a
positive step towards the church and the Rwandan government mending
fences.
“Today, genocide denial and trivialisation continue to flourish in certain groups within the Church, and genocide suspects have been shielded from justice within Catholic institutions,” the government statement read.
“Today, genocide denial and trivialisation continue to flourish in certain groups within the Church, and genocide suspects have been shielded from justice within Catholic institutions,” the government statement read.
Kigali has also been pushing the Roman Catholic church to strip
and excommunicate clergy found guilty of abetting killings, but the
church says priests can only be discharged from service but they still
retain their titles.
At least 41 per cent of Rwanda’s population follows the Roman Catholic faith.
Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, the head of the genocide survivor’s
umbrella association Ibuka, said that Pope Francis’s acknowledgement of
the Church’s failures in the Rwandan genocide marks an important
historic milestone and will heal many hearts.
“Pope Francis has proved to be an icon of peace and
reconciliation. Unlike his two predecessors, he understands the
importance of the church accepting responsibility in the genocide. The
next step now is to focus on fighting genocide denial and cleaning up
the image of the church,” said Mr Dusingizemungu
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