AFRICA/CONGO DR - New threats to priests and religious women because of the opposition of the Bishops to the constitutional amendment

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - Priests threatened and a nunnery was devastated on Sunday, October 12 in Lodja, 750 km north of Mbuji-Mayi, capital of Kasai Oriental, in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to the Pastoral Letter of the Catholic Bishops' Conference which criticizes the proposal of the constitutional amendment that would allow the incumbent President, Joseph Kabila, to stand for election for a third term (see Fides 17/09/2014).
The first episode, according to information sent to Fides Agency, occurred in the parish of Saint-Desiré. After reading the message, the priest was insulted and threatened by some young people who attended Mass. The priest was not hurt thanks to the intervention of a policeman who protected him.
Subsequently, in the parish of Sainte-Therese de Nganga, the parish priest who read the Bishops’ message during Mass, was threatened by a group of young people. On the same Sunday some boys attacked the convent of the Franciscan Sisters. A nun was injured.
These serious incidents come after the attempt of a self-styled group of "young Catholics" who want to submit to the Nunciature in Kinshasa a protest petition to Pope Francis for the alleged "interference of the Congolese Bishops in national politics". The Bishops have denied that these boys belong to Church organizations (see Fides 04/10/2014). (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 14/10/2014)