AFRICA/DR CONGO - “Politics cannot divorce itself from morality,” says the President of the Bishops’ Conference of Congo

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - “Political power only has meaning if its actions guarantee the common good of society, or at least the necessary conditions that allow access for all members of the community to an integral development that goes beyond their personal means. In other words, the political power that is not concerned for the common good or that settles for simply taking care of private government affairs, is an irresponsible power, a useless political power, because it goes against its very own nature. One cannot “engage in politics” without taking responsibility for “public matters concerning the welfare of the people,” said Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, President of the Bishops’ Conference of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in his introductory speech given at the Second “Atelier” of Catholics working in politics that was held March 28-30 in the Betania Center of Gombe.
In his speech entitled “Morality and Politics,” Archbishop Monsengwo stressed the need that Congo has of recuperating its fundamental values in civil life, and thus enable the country to resolve the serious crisis that it is experiencing. “Politics cannot avoid morality because the life of the community depends on its actions. The politician carries out voluntary human acts for which he is responsible and whose goodness or maliciousness are evident at the light of natural law and moral law,” the Archbishop affirmed. Consequently, “the political players must respond for their actions not only in the presence of the public who votes them into office, but above all, in the presence of the Creator of all men, and therefore, of society.”
Finally, the President of Congo’s Conference of Bishops recalled the fact that “Positive law, including the Constitution, derives its power from its bond with natural law and divine law, revealed by Jesus Christ. In the degree that it separates itself from these, positive law runs the risk of becoming arbitrary and prepares the ground for resistance and objection in matters of conscience. The Christian politician is called to use legislative means to fight for authentic human and cultural values, with the goal of facilitating virtuous behavior in society.”
“In this sense, we often forget the fact that the Congolese people supported a series of coherent values in the Sovereign National Conference. A people without memory is at risk for becoming a people without history. Forgetting such values will eventually force the Congolese society to confront the anti-values that go against human dignity. That is why a national commitment is necessary,” the Archbishop of Kinshasa concluded. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 31/3/2008; righe 34, parole 418)