Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – The Catholic Church of Saint John of Capistrano, in Lopa, Ituri province, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was desecrated in a new episode of violence affecting the region. The sacrilegious act took place on July 21, in the context of clashes between several armed groups fighting for control of the territory.According to a statement from the Diocesan Commission for Justice and Peace of Bunia, those responsible for the desecration are apparently members of the armed group CODECO (Coopérative pour le Développement du Congo), which has been responsible for similar acts in the past (see Fides, 25/9/2024).According to the Commission, two days earlier, on July 19, a spokesperson for the Congolese regular army (FARDC) had announced “a military alliance between the FARDC and CODECO” to combat a new armed group that had emerged in the area, the Convention pour la Révolution Populaire (CRP). The formation of this movement had been announced in March in Uganda by Thomas Lubanga, a former rebel leader convicted by the International Criminal Court.According to “Justice and Peace,” following the announcement of this alliance, “a series of coordinated attacks against the CRP” were reported in Djugu territory. As part of these operations, during the raid on the villages of Lopa in the late morning of July 21, CODECO members desecrated the Church of Saint John of Capistrano, the presbytery, and the Marian shrine.The statement, signed by Father Chrysanthe Ngabu Lidja, director of “Justice and Peace” in Bunia, details that the sacrilegious acts include the desecration of the Tabernacle, with Eucharistic hosts thrown to the ground; the looting of the Marian shrine; and the destruction of chasubles, vestments, and liturgical objects, left scattered on the ground. Added to this is the profound trauma experienced by the priests and the local community during the rebel attack.The provisional toll from the incursion carried out by CODECO, “with the support of the FARDC,” is at least three dead and the looting of numerous civilian properties.”Justice and Peace in Congo” condemns “the carrying of weapons by anyone outside the security forces, as well as the unnatural alliance between the FARDC and CODECO militiamen, which has facilitated these abuses, publicly announced and broadcast on the radio.” It also calls for “the postponement of the state of siege to restore peace through the eradication of armed groups and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of militiamen”.It should be noted that a state of siege has been in effect in both Ituri and North Kivu since May 2021, granting broad powers to the army (see Fides, 7/5/2021), but so far it has not allowed peace to be restored in the region. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 23/7/2025)
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