I only learned of it today.
Christians hacked to death, villages obliterated.
The persecution of Christians has escalated in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), prompting fears that a jihadist group is gaining strength in the region.
At least 36 people were killed in the North Kivu region on Saturday. It is the deadliest attack there since November 2014, with some saying that casualties might be nearer to 50. The victims were reportedly tied up and hacked to death.
The Islamist Allied Democratic Forces-National Association for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF-NALU) have targeted Christians in the north-east of the DRC for several years after their attempt to overthrow the Ugandan government failed.
The United Nations has urged the Democratic Republic of Congo to investigate the massacre. A statement from the UN’s high commissioner on human rights said the death toll from the group since 2014 had risen to 645.
On Monday the Pope condemned the “shameful silence” over the violence in the region.
At his Angelus for the feast of the Assumption, he said: “My thoughts go to the people of North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, who have been recently hit with fresh massacres, which have for some time been perpetrated in shameful silence, without attracting even as much as our attention. Unfortunately, they are part of the too many innocent people who have no weight on world opinion.” - source
August 19, 1917
Our Lady of Fatima:
"Pray, pray very much. Make sacrifices for sinners.
Many souls go to hell,
because no one is willing to help them with sacrifice."
The Congo has a long and violent history against Christians. Belgium, who once ruled her as a colony, was a brutal overlord. Fatima continues to unfold. 2017 could be significant.
ReplyDeleteI think so too.
DeleteThe Kivu - thinking of Sr. Luke
ReplyDeleteMe too! Isn't that something? I always think of her as if she is some sort of saint.
Delete