Democratic Republic of Congo - Country profile

Although religion has played little part in the continuing violence taking place in DR Congo, priests, religious Sisters and children in Christian schools have been the innocent victims of some of Africa’s most savage crimes. Fifty years after independence, peace seems as elusive as ever.

Armed groups of deadly militia have wreaked havoc and devastation. The government’s control is increasingly weak, while armed forces “act with impunity” and are responsible for unlawful killings, disappearances, arrests and recruitment of child soldiers. (Source: US State Department, International Religious Freedom Report 2009, 3^rd November 2010)

The country’s two million displaced people – nearly 75 percent of them in the Kivu region – were easy prey.

Of this large number, 120,000 homeless people were supported by the Church and hence clergy have been inevitable targets. The brutal killing of a priest and a religious Sister in a Trappist monastery near Bukavu in late 2009 seemed to be a deliberate attack on the Church itself.

Savage violence has been the distinctive hallmark of so many groups terrorising the region. This was one reason why the government struggled to overpower the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda – a Rwandan rebel group in the east of the country.

By contrast, the regime has enjoyed more success against the Uganda-based Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Even so, there have been serious setbacks. When 300 civilians were killed in December 2009 in Makombo, north-east Congo, the rebels proved they could still carry out violence on a massive scale.

Church leaders say an imminent breakthrough in the struggle against child abductions, pillaging and rape is unlikely. Uncertainty and fear continue to beset the lives of many people – Christian and non-Christian alike.

Key projects

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  Help for the training of 24 novice Sisters

  The congregation of the Little Sisters of the Presentation live under the constant threat of violence as they carry out their ministry of helping the suffering. But they know that they have your support, thanks to the help you are offering to train 24 novices. Sister Marie Françoise writes: “We feel close to the hearts of all our benefactors, who have done so much for the training of vocations, so that the Church can stand on a firm foundation".
  Make Donation

Last updated: 23/03/2011