Islamic extremists hack 36 to death with machetes, including Christian pastor in DRC

From Christian Post (Congo)-

Suspected Islamist militants hacked to death over 30 people, including an Anglican pastor, in overnight attacks on villages in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

On Tuesday, four villages were raided by the Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamist group, in the west of Beni territory, Reuters reports. The rebel group has its origins in Uganda but is now based in DR Congo's Beni region.

Beni Governor Donat Kibwana told AFP that members of the terrorist group hacked all victims to death with machetes. In total, 36 individuals were killed, including an Anglican pastor. 
The main attack took place in Manzingi, a village northwest from Oicha, while the pastor was killed in the village of Eringeti. 

More here-

https://www.christianpost.com/news/islamic-extremists-hack-36-to-death-with-machetes-including-christian-pastor-in-drc.html

Anglican Church Endorses Vatican's Call for Prayers for South Sudan, DRC

From VOA-

Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, secretary-general of the Anglican consultative council, is appealing to the leaders of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to end violence and restore peace.

Idowu-Fearon said the Anglican Communion will join Catholics’ peace efforts on Friday.

“With these countries, No. 1, you will see that, the extent of the loss of lives, the extent of the suffering in these two countries, honestly, it is an embarrassment to Africa in general and the powers that be in the world in particular,” Idowu-Fearon said.

He said the conflict in the two countries is because of power struggle, adding, “It has to do with an epidemic problem on the continent of Africa. ... Tribalism, corruption (and) power.”

More here-

https://www.voanews.com/a/anglican-church-endorses-vatican-call-for-prayers-for-south-sudan/4266617.html

Police release 'kidnapped' priest in DR Congo

From The Congo-

Congolese police have released a Catholic priest hours after they snatched him this weekend following a mass in Kinshasa, the cleric said Sunday, amid spiralling tensions between the church and the government.

Security forces had grabbed Father Sebastien Yebo outside his church on Saturday morning, beaten him and thrown him into a jeep, with witnesses describing the incident as a "kidnapping".

Yebo told AFP he was let go in the afternoon after several hours of interrogation over his alleged links with the Kamwina Nsapu militia.

More here-

https://www.yahoo.com/news/police-release-kidnapped-priest-dr-congo-141440236.html

Presiding Bishop moderates WCC panel on peace, security in the Congo

From ENS-

 The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is ranked among the world’s poorest countries, and since the former Belgian colony fell into the hands of corrupt and power-hungry leaders following its independence in 1960, the Congolese have rarely experienced life without conflict.

A May 27-29 World Council of Churches’ conference in Geneva, Switzerland, includes religious leaders, victims of war, former child soldiers, United Nations representatives, members of relief agencies, and post-conflict practitioners, all seeking solutions for peace and security in the war-weary nation. Participants at the event are addressing violent conflict, electoral integrity, environmental protection and human rights.

Quoting from Isaiah 58, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said: “The peacemaking work that we are all about is repairing [the] breach, that gap in abundant life that Jesus believes is the birthright of all human beings. Repairing that breach is what we are about and why we are here.”

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2015/05/28/presiding-bishop-moderates-panel-on-peace-and-security-in-the-congo/

Murdered nuns laid to rest in the Congo as crime investigation continues

From Religon News Service-

Three elderly Italian nuns murdered in Burundi were laid to rest Thursday (Sept. 11) in a Xaverian cemetery in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid heightened calls for action about their death.

Sister Lucia Pulici, 75, Sister Olga Raschietti, 82, and Sister Bernadetta Boggian, 79, of the Xaverian Missionary Sisters of Mary were gruesomely murdered Sunday in their convent in the Kamenge area of Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura.
More here-

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/09/12/brutally-murdered-nuns-laid-rest-congo-crime-investigation-continues/

Congo Anglicans re-elect Henri Isingoma as Primate

From Anglican News-

Congo Anglicans have re-elected the Most Revd Henri Isingoma as Primate of the Province de L'Eglise Anglicane Du Congo, giving him the mandate to lead the church there for another five years.

In an exclusive interview with ACNS today, Archbishop Isingoma said the re-election gives him an opportunity to continue with the various activities, projects and policies meant to develop the church.

“For instance, we need to revisit our Church’s constitution and adapt it to the realities on the ground,” he said. “We also need to work on restoring and promoting good relationships with other churches in the Anglican Communion and other denominations.”

More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2014/08/congo-anglicans-re-elect-henri-isingoma-as-primate.aspx

Anglican head to visit violence-hit African region

From Uganda-

The archbishop of Canterbury, head of the worldwide Anglican church, says he will visit Africa's violence-prone Great Lakes region later this week.

A statement from his official residence said Monday that Archbishop Justin Welby will on Thursday start a five-day visit to South Sudan, Congo, Burundi and Rwanda. He will meet primates of the Anglican church.

The statement said the trip will satisfy his "desire is to express solidarity, build personal and professional bonds, understand the primates' work in their local contexts, and lay foundations for good collaboration over the coming years."

South Sudan is the scene of violence sparked by a power struggle between the country's president and his former deputy, while eastern Congo remains prey to attacks by Congolese, Rwandan, Ugandan and Burundian rebels.

http://www.wncn.com/story/24568429/anglican-head-to-visit-violence-hit-african-region

Goma Anglican Church, School Damaged in Missile Attacks

From All Africa- (Congo)

Several missiles exploded late afternoon on August 22 in central Goma causing significant damage to St Paul's Anglican Church and destroying three classrooms in the adjacent school.

Claudaline Mikanirwa, the wife of the Rev. Desiré Mukanirwa, Anglican priest in Goma, said in an e-mail to church partners that "one displaced child died on [the] spot... In other places the bombs killed some people. Another bomb reached near our home... and touched a neighboring home but no one was injured. By the time Desiré and the children and other displaced people were at our home, I was still downtown in my shop. But all of us are fine."

Mukanirwa said it would be difficult for people to worship in the church in its current state.

Numerous shells landed in residential areas of Goma on Aug. 22, killing at least four people and wounding 15, all of them civilians, according to an August 24 UN News Centre report.

In an e-mail to ENS, Claudaline simply wrote: "Your prayers are needed."

More here-

http://allafrica.com/stories/201308280565.html

Woodstock Residents Rally To Help Village in Congo

From New Hampshire-

Two years ago, several Woodstock residents placed their faith in the hands of a Congolese man with a vision of bettering the lives of those in his hometown village — and he didn’t disappoint.

Jean du Dieu Tshileu, a Woodstock resident originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, made connections with a Woodstock family when both were in Washington, D.C., and after arriving in Vermont in 2004 with that family who he now calls his own, he started fulfilling a lifelong dream.

That vision: a three-legged-stool plan that promoted economic stability and education in his village of Bakwa-Tshileu by building a school, a farming program and a sports field, that he hoped would become financially self-sustainable.

Now the vision is well on its way to reality.

“He came to Woodstock with a project plan but was having trouble getting it started,” said Leigh Woods, a board member with Team Congo, which has 12 members interested in supporting the project.

More here-

http://www.vnews.com/news/townbytown/woodstock/7649689-95/woodstock-residents-rally-to-help-village-in-congo

Over 30,000 Congolese flee rebel attacks to Uganda: UN

From Congo-

More than 30,000 refugees from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo fleeing a rebel attack on the town of Kamango have arrived in neighbouring Uganda, UN officials said on Saturday.

Streams of refugees have crossed the border into western Uganda's Bundibugyo district since the attack on Thursday.

United Nations refugee agency official Karen Ringuette said that as of late Friday, more than 30,000 had entered Uganda, updating a previous tally of at least 23,000.

So far, there had been no further updates of numbers arrived on Saturday, Ringuette added.

The town of Kamango in the northernmost part of North Kivu province was attacked and briefly occupied Thursday by a Ugandan-led rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

Ugandan army spokesman Paddy Ankunda said Saturday that troops have been sent to reinforce positions along the border with Congo.

"We have deployed enough forces on our common border to ensure these terrorists (ADF) do not cross the line, because Uganda is their target," Ankunda told AFP.

"We are in contact with Congolese army and the situation is getting back to normal, but people have continued to enter Uganda fearing the rebels will kill them."

More here-

http://www.africareview.com/News/Over-30-000-Congolese-flee-rebel-attacks-to-Uganda/-/979180/1914026/-/133mlw0z/-/index.html

Anglican university in the Congo attacked

From ENS-

One of the member schools in Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion (CUAC) in Africa has been affected by the fighting in Congo. Despite being 250 miles north from the fighting in Goma, the Université Anglicane du Congo experienced its first attack since its opening two years ago. The Revd Canon Daniel Sabiti Tibafa, the university vice chancellor, has sent the following report:

“Yes, the morning night of 22 December 2013 at around 2:00 am, armed people broke the door of our house threatening to kill all of us if we did not have any money on us. They forced the door with heavy stones…and the guns to destroy the lock of the door. In the house we managed to get $200 and they forced me to take them into my office where we got another $250. They beat me on the back and on my right hand. The right hand pain is still being dealt with by our lovely nurse Miss Kiiza Kahwa.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2013/01/08/anglican-university-in-the-congo-attacked/

CONGO: Anglican Archbishop ends Partnership with AMIA

From David Virtue-

The archbishop of the Anglican Church of Congo, the Most Rev. Henri K. Isingoma has sent a formal letter to Canon Kenneth Kearon, General Secretary of the Anglican Communion, saying that the Congo will not grant any canonical license to any clergy from [the] AMiA nor will it ordain any priest or consecrate any bishop from AMiA.

"The Province of the Anglican Church of Congo is a full member of the Anglican Communion; thus the individual actions from Bishop Bahemuka Mugenyi William (Diocese of Boga) in this regard with AMiA are illegal and he will solely account for them."

The letter was sent to the General Secretary on Sept. 30, 2012. A copy was obtained by Virtueonline.

On April 13, The Rt. Rev. Charles H. Murphy, III wrote AMIA bishops and friends that he had secured the Province of the Congo which he said is validly attached to the global Anglican Communion. The Anglican Mission's connection with the Congo began at Winter Conference 2012 when Bishop William Bahemuka Mugenyi generously made provision for scheduled ordinations to go forward, he said. Murphy later wrote that he had received an official letter from Archbishop Henri Isingoma of the Anglican Church of the Congo, receiving him as a Bishop of the House of Bishops in his Province and offering the AMIA a new canonical residence.

More here-

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=16593#.UGrC1kK5QTw

Amid Congo's chaos, hope lives

From The Congo and Virginia-

THROUGH THE window of our tiny charter plane, it looked like a sprawling city on a picturesque lake. From a distance, it could have easily passed as the Swiss foothills of the Alps.

But as we flew closer, Goma began to reveal more of its troubled self.

The roads were dusty and rutted, the land mostly barren. The streets were teeming with people. And what had appeared to be houses were little more than makeshift huts. The sides of the runway were littered with the carcasses of rusty airliners.

This is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the slice of central Africa made famous for Westerners by Joseph Conrad's chilling novel "Heart of Darkness." Yet for all of the Congo's otherworldly challenges, my two colleagues from the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and I learned during a week in May that good things are happening there.

More here-

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2012/062012/06072012/705495

Congo's victims of war, disease find solace and healing in Anglican church

From ENS-

Thousands of women brutally raped by marauding militiamen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are marred by stigma, frequently abandoned by their families and communities.

At a church guest house in the center of Goma, in the Anglican Diocese of Bukavu, the Rev. Desiré Mukanirwa and his wife Claudaline provide a safe haven for victims of gender-based violence to work through their trauma and carve out a new life. The end goal is the women's integration back into society.

Shouldering immense psychological issues, some of the women become pregnant or find themselves infected with HIV as a result of sexual violation.

"We're helping to heal the wounds of trauma," said Mukanirwa over breakfast one July morning at his Goma home. "We didn't want to shut our eyes. We need action."

Ordained a priest in the Province L'Eglise Anglicane du Congo (Anglican Church of Congo) in 1998, the same year the guest house opened, Mukanirwa told a chilling story about children, one as young as 3, being raped during the Second Congo War (1998-2003).

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_129195_ENG_HTM.htm

Bishop Praises ‘Brave and Faithful’ Church

From The Living Church-

Reports about thefts, rapes and murders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and of mass attacks that create refugees in the tens of thousands, are not abstractions for the Bishop of Winchester.

The Rt. Rev. Michael Scott–Joynt, Bishop of Winchester since 1995, became the patron of the Congo Church Association more than a decade ago. He has visited the nation five times since becoming the association’s patron.

His most recent visit was just after Easter, when he offered Bible meditations for Congolese Anglicans’ small House of Bishops. During Bishop Scott–Joynt’s visit, a renegade militia attacked the Bishop of Bukavu, the Rt. Rev. Bahati Bali Busane Sylvestre, and his family at home.

“I heard two days ago of attacks and fighting and killings in an area I have visited,” Bishop Scott–Joynt told The Living Church in a telephone interview July 21. “I have sat in homes with bishops and been told, ‘You’re safe now, but we must leave soon.’”

The bishop said he first became acquainted with Congolese bishops during the Lambeth Conference of 1998.

“I receive enormously from them,” he said. The bishop said he has learned “a lot about the New Testament and a lot about living as a Christian” from his Congolese brothers and sisters.

The bishop said he’s become especially aware that the suffering in the DRC reflects the story of the Church throughout history.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2010/7/29/bishop-praises-brave-and-faithful-church

As thousands flee murder, rape and destruction of their homes, DRC Anglican pleads for more prayer

From ACNS-

Thousands of people have been displaced and are pouring into towns in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo as an upsurge in violence in the Lubero and Beni territories takes its toll, writes Baliesima Kadukima Albert, Coordinator of Health and HIV/AIDS programmes for the Anglican Church of the Province of Congo.

The political situation and security in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo is exponentially deteriorating as we approach the elections due in 2011. In Lubero and Beni territories, rebels from Uganda (NALU - National Army for the liberation of Uganda) and those from Rwanda (FDLR - Front pour la liberation du Rwanda ) have increased their atrocities on the civilians. More Congolese rebel groups are coming up and causing problems to the population as well as the NALU and FDLR rebels.

In May 2010, Mai-Mai militia attacked a military training position in Beni killing civilians and burning hundreds of houses. Early in July, NALU rebels attacked the position of the Congolese national army in Mutwanga (around 30 km from Beni towards the border with Uganda) and killed eight civilians and injured many more others. Since 11 July fighting has been reported in Isale, Eringeti, between NALU and the national Army, which has led to the killing of more than 30 people, the rape of girls and women, and the displacement of more than 25,000 people lacking food and any other assistance. These internally displaced persons (IDPs) are lacking food and any other items for basic needs. They sleep in schools and churches, and so far churches have been providing little food but not enough to handle such number of IDPs.

More here-

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2010/7/20/As-thousands-flee-murder-rape-and-destruction-of-their-homes-DRC-Anglican-pleads-for-more-prayer

CONGO: Armed militia storm Bukavu bishop's home at night

From Episcopal Life-

A group of unidentified gunmen forced their way into the home of Congolese Bishop Sylvestre Bali-Busane Bahati of the Diocese of Bukavu during the early hours of April 9, looting the property and leaving with money, clothes and electronic equipment.
The bishop was unharmed, but the gunmen tied up his eldest son insisting they be directed to him, according to an e-mail sent from Bahati to church partners. The gunmen also assaulted the security man on duty.

According to the e-mail, the gunmen said they had been paid US$20,000 "to assassinate the Anglican bishop of Bukavu diocese."

When the bishop pleaded with the gunmen not to kill him, they requested money, which Bahati gave them, the e-mail said.

Bahati didn't disclose the amount in his e-mail, and couldn't be reached for further comment.

The Rev. Jean-Paul Muhindo Matabaro, in an e-mail to church partners, said that Bahati isn't the first church leader to be targeted in this way.

In November 2009, the Roman Catholic Church in Kabare lost a priest, a nun and two lay people in a similar attack, he said. "Daily, there is mourning and sorrow in the communities of South Kivu and North Kivu provinces because of killings and looting," Matabaro said, noting that such attacks have resulted in the displacement of thousands of people.

Matabaro urged the local political authorities and the United Nations Mission in the Congo to find a way to ensure peace and security in the North and South Kivu provinces and throughout the whole country. "We also request our brothers and sisters who read this sad news to pray for Bishop Bahati's family and the Diocese of Bukavu who are often victims of atrocities from the militias," said Matabaro.

more here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_121414_ENG_HTM.htm

The sufferings of the Congo people: Great Congo Demo reprise

From The Telegraph-

One hundred years ago today, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Randall Davidson, led The Great Congo Demonstration against violence and oppression in Congo. Speaking at the Albert Hall, he condemned the 'great wrong' committed against the Congo people, acknowledging: 'We are ourselves in part responsible for the past, and, if that wrong be allowed to continue, by whomsoever carried out, we shall be answerable to God and man for its continuance.' Read the original letter to The Times in our archives.

As the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams said in a joint press release today with the Anglican Archbishop of Congo and the Bishop of Winchester, a century later violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to claim lives, with the conflict reportedly causing directly or indirectly the deaths of more than five million civilians since 1998.

The conflict, including the latest military operations, is characterised by widespread human rights violations, including horrific acts of sexual and other violence against women and girls, the deliberate killing of civilians, and the recruitment of children as soldiers, they said.

The attacks have resulted in the mass-displacement of local communities, exacerbating existing disease and poverty.

According to the United Nations, more than one million people have been forced to flee their homes since January of this year in both eastern and northern Congo.

More here-

http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2009/11/the-sufferings-of-the-congo-people-great-congo-demo-reprised.html

Anglican Church donates various products to Congo detention centre

From Angola-

Anglican Church in Angola choir group “Zola” handed over on Friday a donation made up of soap, mosquito nets and others, to prisoners in Congo detention Centre, in the northern Uíge Province, as a way of manifesting their solidarity to prison staff.

The gesture is part of an evangelization programme that the religious group is implementing from Friday to Sunday in Uíge Province.

The religious organization donated also some toys and boxes of soap to the paediatric ward of the provincial hospital, with the same objective.

Members of the Zola Choir group, led by Rodrigues Pedro Banza, visited also the provincial radio station.

According to the programme, the choir will also travel to Songo District for a music concert and visit the Episcopal Delegation of that district.

http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/sociedade/2009/8/36/Anglican-Church-donates-various-products-Congo-detention-centre,209042ff-6382-4c9b-b05b-806faa6b710f.html

ERD Responds to Renewed Violence in the Congo

Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is partnering with the Diocese of Bukavu in the Anglican Church of the Congo after renewed violence between government and rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo caused massive displacement in the eastern part of the African country.

According to the Rt. Rev. Bahati Bali-Busane Sylvestre, Bishop of Bukavu, the rebel soldiers have focused their attacks on civilians in the form of rape and murder. An estimated 7,000 families have been forced to flee their homes in the city of Goma and surrounding areas. The majority of the evacuees are women and children, many of whom are vulnerable to disease and malnutrition made worse by the poor sanitation and crowded conditions in the camps.

In partnership with the Diocese of Bukavu, ERD is providing food and sanitation supplies.

“The threat of attack persists in the regions surrounding Goma and it is uncertain when families will be able to safely return to their homes,” said Janette O’Neill, senior director of Africa programs for ERD. “We remain in close contact with our partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo and ask for people around the church join us in prayer for a peaceful end to the conflict.”

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/6/8/erd-responds-to-renewed-violence-in-the-congo