The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has had the grace to welcome on the soil of its ancestors the visit of his holiness Pope Francis. The last visit of the Supreme Pontiff to the DRC was that of Pope John Paul II in 1985, 38 years ago. This visit takes place in a context of crisis: armed conflicts in the East of the country, attempts to balkanize the country, economic crisis, and abysmal social misery.
This crisis is multifaceted, persistent, and bewildering, so Pope Francis has come to the DRC, he says, as a pilgrim of reconciliation and peace.
Overcoming the specter of generalized insecurity and unpredictable violence, he came to witness and express his closeness and affection for a people who have been struggling for decades to determine their own destiny; a people who have been bruised, exploited, dehumanized, and forgotten because of the unimaginable richness of their soil and subsoil.
Thanks to the three solemn speeches and the homily of February 01, 2023, of his holiness, the Congolese people have felt and understood that they are not alone in their long struggle to safeguard their own dignity and the integrity of their national borders.
- To the international authorities
In his first speech of January 31, 2023, delivered before the Congolese authorities, representatives of civil society and the Diplomatic Corps at the Palace of the Nation, the Holy Father recognized that the DRC "continues to suffer within its borders from conflicts and forced migrations, and to suffer from terrible forms of exploitation, unworthy of man and of creation.” Pope Francis has a clear vision of the origin of these evils combined with a paternal concern for a reconciled and pacified Congo. He then addressed the international community and especially the multinationals, denouncing political and economic colonialism, in these terms: "Take your hands off the Democratic Republic of Congo, take your hands off Africa! Stop suffocating Africa: it is not a mine to be exploited nor a land to be robbed". With these words, the Pontiff is seen in the DRC as the defender of a people and a continent that has been exploited, plundered, humiliated, and forgotten by history. He made himself the voice of the voiceless, and publicly did justice to Africa for the four centuries of geopolitical violence it has experienced, namely, the slave trade, slavery, colonialism, and imperialism, which the great powers are trying to erase.
- To the Congolese authorities
Pope Francis addressed the Congolese authorities using the analogy of a diamond and starting from the geographical and sociological data of this immense country. He reminded them of the richness of the typical pluralism and the polyhedral character of the DRC, he also invited them to preserve the richness of cultural pluralism and above all to avoid "slipping into tribalism and confrontation". Moreover, having the knowledge of the management of the Congolese public good, the holy Father went even further, as a prophet, by denouncing the scandal of the "tribalization" of the institutions of the Republic and of the selfish illicit enrichment; he expressed himself in these terms: "To take obstinately sides for one's own ethnic group or for particular interests, feeding spirals of hatred and violence, turns to the detriment of all by blocking the necessary 'chemistry of the whole'.” Against these practices that generate interminable class struggles and the infernal circle of violence, the Pope invited the Congolese political class to appropriate this Bantu proverb: "Bintu bantu". He emphasized that true wealth is above all human beings and good relationships. Our soil and our subsoil abounding in wealth cause in the DRC a geological scandal, certainly, but the scandal is much broader. This is why he urged the Congolese governors to put themselves at the service of the Congolese nation: "Power has no meaning unless it becomes service. How important it is to act in this spirit, fleeing authoritarianism, the search for easy gains and the thirst for money that the apostle Paul designates as "the root of all evil" (1 Tm 6,10)". And since 2023 is an election year, the Holy Father also invited them to promote free, transparent, credible and inclusive elections.
- To young people and catechists
In the same perspective, looking at the young people and catechists gathered at the Martyrs' stadium on Thursday, February 2, and expressing his gratitude for their affection, the Holy Father invited them to look at the gift of life that God has placed in their hands: "My friends," he said, "God has placed in your hands the gift of life, the future of society and of this great country. These hands," the Holy Father continued, "have the role of building and not destroying, of giving and not hoarding, of loving and not hating.” To young people and catechists he gave five pieces of advice, like a testament, to be associated with the fingers of one hand:
1 - the sense of prayer that makes life pulsate, corresponding to the thumb since it is close to the heart.
2 - the sense of the other (community), corresponding to the index finger that shows something.
3 - the quality of honesty, corresponding to the central finger that rises above the others to remind us of something essential.
4 - the place of forgiveness, corresponding to the ring finger, the weakest finger.
5 - the sense of service, corresponding to the last finger which is the smallest of all the fingers. It is by serving others that we become small. With these five pieces of advice, Pope Francis invited Congolese youth to "establish priorities among all the attractive rumors that circulate" and create disorder and intra-community conflicts.
- To the consecrated persons
Finally, addressing priests, deacons, consecrated persons and seminarians gathered on February 2, 2023 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Congo, on the occasion of the Presentation of the Lord, the Holy Father emphasized the centrality of Jesus Christ in our lives: "By putting Jesus at the center, our view of life changes and, despite the sufferings and inner sorrows, we feel enveloped by his light, consoled by his Spirit, encouraged by his Word, sustained by his love.”
In view of the dramatic situation in the DRC, Pope Francis reminded priests, deacons, consecrated persons, and seminarians of what they are, servants of God: "Through you, the Lord wants to anoint his people today with the oil of consolation and hope. For this, they must avoid and overcome three things:
1 - spiritual mediocrity by taking seriously the quality of our prayer life. For this is the foundation of our pastoral action.
2 - worldly comfort by avoiding taking advantage of our role to satisfy our needs and our comfort.
3 - superficiality by allowing ourselves to be well formed and well prepared for the ordained ministry and for religious and missionary life, knowing that "people do not need officials of the sacred or graduates apart from the people. We are obliged to enter the heart of the Christian mystery, to deepen its doctrine, to study and meditate on the Word of God".
This pastoral visit of his holiness Pope Francis has thus given hope to the Congolese people who felt suffocated by suffering and has allowed the DRC to be heard on the international level.
By Simon-Pierre KAKIAU KUSUNDULA, SMA.
