AFRICA/DR CONGO - Cardinal Besungu denounces the waste of money for constitutional reform: "We must take care of young people"

Monday, 25 November 2024 bishops youth politics constitution

CONGO, THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE

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Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - "Congolese youth in general and those of Kinshasa in particular are being sacrificed. How can we understand that we spend time, energy and money to talk about the possibility or the amendment of the Constitution?" asks Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa, in view of the constitutional amendment planned by President Félix Tshisekedi.
In his homily at the Mass for the diocesan Youth Day yesterday, Sunday 24 November, the Cardinal stressed the distance between the government and the real needs of the population, especially young people. "How can we in a country spend so much energy and money on constitutional revision instead of taking care of our abandoned youth?" he asked. "Is it the change in the constitution that gives us a future at the end of our studies, that gives us a job at the end of our studies?" the Cardinal said to the young people.
With a view to the Feast of Christ the King, Cardinal Ambongo encouraged young people to work to change the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the better: "Congo is your country. If you allow yourselves to become discouraged, no one else will take better care of it than you. Remember that every earthly power has a beginning and an end.
But the Kingdom of God is eternal." In this context, the Cardinal urged "not to fall for false promises or illusions. Instead, follow Christ, your hope, this King of love who overcomes hatred and violence; this King of truth who rejects lies, corruption and deceit; this King of justice and peace who reconciles hearts instead of dividing them."
In October, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi announced the creation of a commission to revise the constitution (see Fides, 28/10/2024). The central point of the constitutional revision is the abolition of the limit of two presidential mandates, which will give Tshisekedi the opportunity to run for a third term in the next presidential elections. This has sparked protests from the opposition. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 25/11/2024)