AFRICA/DR CONGO - 29 years ago: commemoration of the March of Hope

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - "We did not understand that the blood of so many victims which impregnates the Congolese soil is a seed that will one day bear fruit for a better Congo", said Mgr. Vincent Tshomba, one of the auxiliary bishops of Kinshasa, on the occasion of the commemoration of the "martyrs of democracy".
The martyrs are Christians who were killed on March 16, 1992 during the so-called March of Hope against the dictatorship. The commemoration of this day was celebrated with a conference and a thanksgiving service.
At the conference Center d'Etudes pour l'Action Sociale of the Jesuits in Gombe, Fr. José Mpundu from the Archdiocese of Kinshasa, who stood at the side of the lay people on February 16, 1992, explained the theme "Together for a Democratic Republic of the Congo of solidarity and Brotherhood" and
shared his experience of those years, while urging a collective awareness of the problems of the present moment.
Fr. Mpundu believes that another "February 16" is needed, because "we must continue the struggle for the liberation of our country, until the final victory". A system based on the primacy of being (and not having), and walking in the construction of a "more fraternal, more human world".
The thanksgiving Mass in the Notre Dame du Congo Cathedral was celebrated by the Vice President of the Bishops' Conference of the Congo, Bishop José Moko Ekanga of Idiofa. Also present were delegations from the Lay Coordination Committee (CLC) and the collective “16. February ”, which are already planning further initiatives with a view to the upcoming 30th anniversary of the March of Hope. (P.M.P.) (Agenzia Fides, 18/2/2021)

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