Benedict’s prayers with Congo’s suffering people

Pope condemns atrocities in Congo, appeals for peace as Caritas launches global appeal.                                                  

Grief: Jane Kanyere is consoled by a neighbour after her son, a teacher, was killed in fighting in Kiwanja, Congo, on November 6. UN peacekeepers found the bodies of a dozen civilians who had been shot in an eastern Congo village occupied by Tutsi rebels who have seized fresh territory in North Kivu province.Photo: CNS /Reuters

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Benedict XVI condemned the systematic atrocities, killings and violence targeting innocent people in Congo and called for all sides to work for peace.
Recent waves of “destruction, pillaging and violence of every kind have forced additional tens of thousands of people to abandon what little they had in order to survive,” and more than 1.5 million people are now refugees, the Pope said.
After praying the Angelus with pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square on November 9, the Pope said his prayers were with those suffering from the fresh outbreak of violence, and he sent encouragement to relief workers, especially from the local churches.
African leaders attending a summit in Kenya on November 7 called for a cease-fire between rebels and pro-government forces and urged increased numbers and powers for UN peacekeepers in the eastern region of Congo.
Pope Benedict said “bloody armed clashes and systematic atrocities have caused and continue to cause numerous victims among innocent civilians” in the North Kivu region of Congo.
He appealed to all sides to “work together to restore peace in that land martyred for too long.” He said the conflict must be ended in a way that is lawful and, above all, respects the dignity of every person.
Meanwhile, Caritas Inter-nationalis, the international umbrella group of Catholic aid agencies, launched an emergency appeal to help tens of thousands of people living in dire conditions.
While international staff had to be evacuated from the area, local Caritas personnel remain on the ground to support those in need, Caritas said in an October 30 press release.
However, fighting has halted the distribution of planned aid in Goma, the capital of North Kivu, it said.
“We’re witnessing the escalation of a humanitarian disaster,” said Father Pierre Cibambo, Caritas Internationalis Africa liaison officer.
During a November 7 press conference, the Canadian Catholic aid agency Development and Peace joined several other aid agencies in urging Canada to intervene.
“Massive displacements, arbitrary assassinations, pillage, torture, kidnapping and an undetermined number of rapes have happened in Congo,” said Gaelle Breton-Le Goff of the Montreal-based Coalition for Women’s Human Rights in Conflict Situations. “War, once again, is being waged on the bodies of women and girls – Canada must take immediate action.”
In a November 7 press release, the Jesuit Refugee Service also called on the international community to help reinforce peacekeeping efforts to protect civilians, quell the violence and increase security so aid agencies can have access to those who have been displaced by the fighting.