Catholic Church says sorry to Rwanda
Print Edition
THE Catholic Church in Rwanda has apologized for the church’s role in the 1994 genocide, saying it regretted the actions of those who participated in the massacres.
“We apologize for all the wrongs the church committed. We apologize on behalf of all Christians for all forms of wrongs we committed. We regret that church members violated (their) oath of allegiance to God’s commandments,” said the statement by the Conference of Catholic Bishops, which was read out in parishes across the country.
The statement acknowledged that church members planned, aided and executed the genocide, in which more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists.
In the years since the genocide, the local church had resisted efforts by the government and groups of survivors to acknowledge the church’s complicity in mass murder, saying church officials who committed crimes had acted individually.
Many of the victims died at the hands of priests, clergymen and nuns, according to some accounts by survivors, and the Rwandan government said many had died in the churches where they had sought refuge.
The bishops’ statement is seen as a positive development in Rwanda’s efforts at reconciliation.
The statement was timed to coincide with the formal end on Sunday of the Holy Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis to encourage greater reconciliation and forgiveness.
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