MIL OSI Translation. Region: Italy –
Source: The Holy See in Italian
Mgr. Dieudonné Uringi Uuci, Bishop of Bunia
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – Two churches desecrated by a group of rebels have been closed in the diocese of Bunia, the capital of Ituri in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This was announced by Dieudonné Uringi Uuci, Bishop of Bunia, during the mass on Sunday 22 September. Mgr. Uringi in his statement states that “Considering the reprehensible acts committed by elements of the armed group CODECO (Cooperative for the Development of Congo), who closed the churches of Kpandroma and Jiba on the night between 28 and 29 August, acts qualified as desecration and which require compensation pursuant to canon 1211, Considering their threat against the physical and moral integrity of the priests working in these ecclesial structures and the arbitrary taking hostage of two faithful collaborators of the priests, Considering their voluntary intention to extort money for the release of these faithful with the sole aim of causing damage to the Church; Considering our immediate ordinary power under canon 381 paragraph 1, we decree: the closure of the Marie-Reine parish of Jiba and the sector of the pastoral institution of Kpandroma for an indeterminate period”. Msgr. Uringi has also decided to withdraw the priests who were working in the two churches. Canon 2011 of the Code of Canon Law establishes that “Sacred places are desecrated if gravely outrageous actions are committed in them with scandal, which in the judgment of the Ordinary of the place, are so serious and contrary to the sanctity of the place that it is not lawful to exercise worship in them until the outrage is repaired with the penitential rite, according to the liturgical books”. The Bishop emphasizes that the violence began after the Church launched an appeal for dialogue and to lay down arms. In response, the CODECO militiamen asked to see the priests. Not finding them, they attacked their collaborators, ransacked the premises and blocked the doors of the two churches. A similar episode had occurred six months ago in one of the parishes involved. The militiamen had mistreated and imprisoned several priests, demanding the release of the prisoners belonging to CODECO. This acronym indicates an association of various militias based on the Lendu ethnic group. The original acronym Cooperative for the Development of Congo, quite unusual for a guerrilla group, derives from the fact that when it was founded in the 1970s, CODECO was a real agricultural development cooperative composed of Lendu farmers. Over the years, land disputes with the Hema shepherds have caused two groups to arm themselves and CODECO has become an acronym indicating an association of various Lendu militias fighting against the Hema. CODECO is accused of various crimes against humanity including massacres in villages and refugee camps. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 25/9/2024)Share:
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.