---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "John Ashworth" <[email protected]> Date: 1 Dec 2016 11:11 Subject: [sudans-john-ashworth] Rwandan Bishops apologise for Church’s role in genocide To: "Group" <[email protected]> Cc:
Bishops apologise for Church’s role in Rwandan genocide The Church acknowledged that members planned and took part in the genocide, in which more than 800,000 people were killed by Associated Press posted Monday, 21 Nov 2016 The Catholic Church in Rwanda apologised on Sunday for the Church’s role in the 1994 genocide, saying it regretted the actions of those who participated in the massacres. “We apologise for all the wrongs the Church committed. We apologise on behalf of all Christians for all forms of wrongs we committed. We regret that Church members violated their oath of allegiance to God’s commandments,” said the statement by the Conference of Catholic Bishops, which was read out in parishes across the country. The statement acknowledged that Church members planned, aided and executed the genocide, in which more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists. In the years since the genocide — which was sparked by a contentious plane crash that killed the then-president, a Hutu — the local Church had resisted efforts by the government and groups of survivors to acknowledge the Church’s complicity in mass murder, saying those Church officials who committed crimes acted individually. Many of the victims died at the hands of priests, clergymen and nuns, according to some accounts by survivors, and the Rwandan government says many died in the churches where they had sought refuge. The bishops’ statement is seen as a positive development in Rwanda’s efforts at reconciliation. “Forgive us for the crime of hate in the country to the extent of also hating our colleagues because of their ethnicity. We didn’t show that we are one family but instead killed each other,” the statement said. The statement was timed to coincide with the formal end Sunday of the Holy Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis to encourage greater reconciliation and forgiveness in his Church and in the world, said Bishop Phillipe Rukamba, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Rwanda. Tom Ndahiro, a Rwandan genocide researcher, said he hoped the Church’s statement will encourage unity among Rwandans. “I am also happy to learn that in their statement, bishops apologize for not having been able to avert the genocide,” he said. http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/11/21/bishops- apologise-for-churchs-role-in-rwandan-genocide/ END ______________________ John Ashworth [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +211 919 695 362 (South Sudan mobile) +44 787 976 8030 (UK mobile) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) Skype: jashworth1 PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to sudan-john-ashworth- [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.za/ group/sudan-john-ashworth --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudans-john-ashworth" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/sudans-john-ashworth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14ooOzoS64qnq%2B7xBCk5MTb3NXqHHfZrsCyQMsdy_QE-_AQ%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
