In a statement published on social media on Sept 23, Caritas International said it was "shocked by the news of the death of our colleague, Dieudonné Barondezi, director of the Caritas branch in Kalonge, in the Democratic Republic of Congo."

"Dieudonné was shot in the head on Sept 19 at a roadblock, in the village of Cholobero, by members of an armed group who demanded he pay the toll, even though, as a humanitarian, he was not obliged to do so," the Catholic charitable organisation said.

Barondezi was taken to a hospital following the shooting, where he was declared dead.

"Let us pray for him, his family, and all humanitarians worldwide who lose their lives to help others," Caritas said.

Read More

Addressing a gathering of the Famille Chrétienne movement in Kinshasa, Cardinal Ambongo condemned what he sees as the West's "decadent morals," particularly its stance on family and children.

"As the West does not like children, they [Westerners] want to attack the basic cell of humanity which is the family" asserted Cardinal Ambongo.

Ambongo's comments were made on January 16 and have circulated widely in Africa through social media.

Cardinal Ambongo pulls no punches in his criticism of Western values in the audio. He asserts that Western societies are "losing ground in terms of value" due to their aversion to children. "Little by little, they will disappear" assures the Congolese cardinal.

"We wish them a good demise" he says, eliciting laughter from his audience.

A decadent culture

The cardinal, who also serves as president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), insists that Africa refuses the "decadent morals of the West. It is a decadent culture, it is the cultural and moral decadence of a society; a society in decline."

While acknowledging Africa's own challenges, he insists that homosexuality is not prevalent on the continent, except in isolated cases. However, he calls for respect for homosexual individuals as "creatures of God."

This is not the first time Cardinal Ambongo has voiced his concerns about Western influence. In a previous interview, he declared "The Church in Europe is dying" emphasising Africa as the future of the Church.

The audio recording also captures Cardinal Ambongo's discussion regarding the SECAM statement rejecting the possibility of blessing same-sex couples on the African continent, a stance supported by Pope Francis.

Despite dissent from bishops in North Africa who believe such blessings could be permissible under certain conditions, Cardinal Ambongo maintains that such practices would lead to scandal.

Sources

La Croix International

Catholic Herald

CathNews New Zealand

"On the backs of trafficked workers and child labourers, China exploits the vast cobalt resources of the DRC to fuel its economy and global agenda," a congressional hearing on human rights violations heard this week

Rigobert Minani Bihuzo, a Catholic priest who has worked to expose child labour and human rights violations in the DRC's mining sector, testified to the dangerous working condition at the mines.

The children work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, he said. He described their working conditions as being "like slavery".

Injuries are common, and for those who are hurt or become sick, lack of medical care means "the majority will die due to various untreated illnesses", he said.

US representative Christopher Smith, who chaired the "Child Labour and Human Rights Violations" in the Mining Industry of the Democratic Republic of Congo, clearly voiced his views on the violations.

"The Chinese Communist Party's quest for cobalt for batteries and lithium for solar panels to power the so-called Green Economy motivates human rapacity as an estimated 40,000 children in Congo toil in non-regulated artisanal mines under hazardous conditions."

The DRC produces over 70 percent of the world's cobalt. 15 to 30 percent of this is produced in artisanal mines.

Smith said that, for years, these small-scale operations have been notorious for human rights violations. The congressional Council on Foreign Relations attributes some of the inhumane working condition to the DRCs instability - "a country weakened by violent ethnic conflict, Ebola and high levels of corruption".

Congolese civil rights attorney Hervé Diakiese Kyungu told the hearing children are trafficked and exploited because they are small.

Kyungu explained this is because the artisanal mines "are often no more than narrow shafts dug into the ground.

"Children are recruited — often forced — to descend into them, using only their hands or rudimentary tools without any protective equipment, to extract cobalt and other minerals."

At the Chinese company Dongfang Congo Mining, children are often exposed to radioactive minerals, injuries, and deadly and painful diseases as they work to extract the valuable ore, Kyungu testified.

They are also unpaid and exploited. The work is often fatal as the children are required to crawl into small holes dug into the earth.

"Officially artisanal mines are supposed to be owned by Congolese citizens working in ‘cooperatives'.

"In reality, they are selling the product extracted from these to the Chinese and other foreigners such as Pakistanis or Indians. The vast majority of this ore, however, is trafficked through Chinese intermediaries."

Chinese representatives are on site, overseeing the operations.

On one occasion "two persons identified as Chinese citizens… instructed two Congolese military officers to whip two Congolese who were found on their site".

The whipping, which was shared on the internet, demonstrates the cooperation between Chinese companies and DCR government officials, Kyungu said.

Source

• CNA

Health officials face a two-pronged challenge in combating the deadly virus: one, the Congo is a war zone. The other is the virus's perceived disgrace and people's fears of the unknown.

To get around these challenges, one local Catholic bishop made a point of being vaccinated in the village where the outbreak was identified so as to encourage others at risk to present themselves to health officials.

Traditional healers have also been trained in Ebola prevention.

Misinformation about the virus is another challenge health officials face. To combat this, the Congo's health ministry has put out a notice against a social media rumour that says eating onions would guard against Ebola.

"It's untrue!" the notice says. "Apart from giving you bad breath that might keep people away from you, onions have no protective effect."

There is also local resistance to health workers who are trying to promote safe burials. These are crucial to containing the virus as it is spread via bodily fluids of those infected, including the dead.

"We are experiencing fear and anger in some communities against Red Cross teams who come to bury the deceased," says Dr Balla Conde, head of emergency operations with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Source

• La Croix
• The Citizen
• VOA News
• Image: CNN.com

Baptisms, confirmations, ordinations and anointing of the sick have been suspended until further notice in the country's northwestern regions hardest hit by the outbreak.

So far, at least 25 people have died since the outbreak was confirmed in early May. Read more

Last weekend's anti-government protests in the capital city of Kinshasa saw four people shot dead.

The United Nations mission in Congo says 47 people were wounded and over 100 arrested in the Sunday protests.

The casualties and arrests occurred two days after Pope Francis called for a worldwide day of prayer and fasting for peace in the DRC.

Many demonstrations occurred in and around Catholic churches.

Some priests held protests within the parameters of their parish grounds to minimise violence.

"Security forces blocked the roads around the churches. They came in and threw tear gas canisters into churches. They used live ammunition," Father Jean Claude Tabu, Curate of the St. Benoît Parish in the north of Kinshasa, says.

This is the third round of demonstrations organized by the Catholic Lay Committee. Previous protests on 31 December and 21 January left over a dozen dead.

"I note with sorrow and deep concern the loss of life and injuries that occurred at the hands of those who are supposed to protect life and the rule of law.

"I add my voice to that of the Holy Father in his call for calm and peace in the country," Archbishop Timothy Broglio, chair of U.S. Bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, wrote on 14 February to the DRC bishops.

Since December, when Kabila again refused to step down, the church and a spiritual group called the Lay Coordination Committee have organised three protests. All have resulted in deaths and have ended violently.

Kabila's refusal to step down has aggravated violence between government forces and multiple armed groups in other areas of the country.

The Catholic church in the DRC has consistently advocated for free and fair elections.

The Congolese Catholic Bishops' Conference has called upon Kabila to confirm he will not run for an illegal third term as president.

He was supposed to leave office in December 2016, but elections have been continually postponed.

Mass atrocities have been carried out in the DRC, killing and displacing thousands in the last few years.

Source
• The Catholic Register
• Business Insider
• Image: eNCA