Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – A Pallottine missionary of Polish origin, Fr. Kontor Wieslaw (SAC), was wounded in an ambush in North Kivu, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The event occurred on March 27. Sources from the Pallottine missionaries gave the following description of what happened to Agenzia Fides: “On the afternoon of March 27, Fr. Wieslaw was returning by car to Rutshuru, from a meeting in Ntamugenga, when three armed men tried to stop him on the road. The missionary accelerated, by the attackers fired, hitting one of the car's tires. Fr. Wieslaw was forced to stop the car, while the attackers continued to fire. The missionary was struck by three bullets, two in the legs and another in his torso. The attack occurred not far from the center of town and Fr. Wieslaw was immediately attended. He recovered in the hospital in Rutshuru and after an operation, on March 30 the doctors said he was out of danger.”
For now, the missionary's assailants' identifications are unknown. “Fr. Wieslaw has been carrying out his mission for over 20 years in the area, where he is parish priest of the Church of Saint Aloys in Rutshuru. He is very esteemed by everyone for his work in evangelization, pastoral care, and human promotion,” Fides' sources commented.
Fr. Wieslaw was visited by Bishop Faustin Ngabu of Goma, as well as by local civil and military authorities.
Rutshuru is a town at 75 kilometers north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu. This Congolese province has been suffering a civil war for months, which is being led by the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP_, which recently signed a peace accord with the central government. In late 2008, some of the fiercest attacks took place in Rutshuru.
Between January and February, North Kivu was the center for the joint military operation being carried out by the Congolese and Rwandan Army against the Rwandan Hutus who took refuge in eastern Congo 15 years ago. The local population has bitterly suffered from instability in the area. A delegation of 7 Bishops from Congo went in mid-March to North Kivu, to bring solidarity to the local people. On March 19, a week before his injury, Fr. Wieslaw welcomed them in his parish, where they celebrated Mass. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 2/4/2009)
