Vatican secretary of state pledges solidarity with refugees, returnees from Sudan

CNA Staff, Jan 21, 2021 / 04:54 pm (CNA).- A Catholic priest in Burkina Faso who went missing Tuesday has been found dead in a forest, the local bishop announced Thursday.

“It is with deep sorrow that I bring to everyone’s attention that the lifeless body of Fr. Rodrigue Sanon was found on January 21, 2021 in the protected forest of Toumousseni, about 20 kilometres from Banfora,” Bishop Lucas Kalfa Sanou said in a statement, according to ACI Africa.

He called for prayers and said more information would be available at a later time.

“By the Mercy of God, may the soul of his servant Rodrigue Sanon rest in peace!” the bishop said.

Fr. Sanon, a priest of Notre Dame de Soubaganyedougou, disappeared Tuesday on his way to Banfora to meet with Bishop Sanou. The priest never arrived, and his car was found abandoned.

Over the last five years, Burkina Faso has been a hub for religious violence and Islamist militias, especially in the northeastern territories. The militants include the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, and Ansarul Islam.

According to a 2019 report from the U.S. State Department, 61% of Burkina Faso residents identify as Muslim and 23% identify as Christian.
The extremist attacks, which target both Christians and Muslims, have left over 1 million people displaced and almost 1,100 dead since 2015.

The bishops in Burkina Faso issued a statement in June, calling the situation “more worrying than ever.” They raised concerns about the increase in religious violence and called for more support from the authorities.

“The role of the Defense and Security Forces remains paramount,” said the bishops, adding that security forces in the country “must produce and guarantee a secure environment conducive to the conduct of the electoral process with the full participation of all citizens.”

In the June statement, the bishops said they are worried that the low levels of security are preventing priests from reaching their parishioners and asked the Blessed Mother to intercede for their efforts.

“For the Pastors in this part of Burkina Faso as elsewhere in the regions … it is a great suffering to no longer be able to reach the faithful in some places, or to see them fleeing from terrorist attacks without any guarantee of security,” they said.

“May Mary, Queen of Peace, accompany us on the path to true peace, a gift of God and the fruit of human efforts.”

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Aleppo, Syria, Mar 7, 2020 / 06:01 am (CNA).- As a wartime missionary priest in Aleppo, Fr. Firas Lufti witnessed the trauma endured by a generation of Syrian children who have spent the entirety of their lives in the uncertainty and tragedy of war.

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Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jan 24, 2018 / 11:58 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After security forces killed at least six people participating in Church-organized protests this weekend, the Archbishop of Kinshasa has likened his country to an “open prison”.

The protesters were calling for Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to step down. His two-term limit expired in December 2016, but he has refused to resign and has not allowed elections to be held.

“We were dispersed by tear gas, stun grenades and live bullets. We have again seen deaths, injuries, priests being arrested, and the theft of citizens’ property,” Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya said Jan. 23 at a church in the capital, Kinshasa.

“Christians were prevented from praying. Others were prevented from leaving by … police and military who were armed as if they had been on a battlefield,” he said.

“How can you kill men, women, children, youths and old people all chanting religious songs, carrying bibles, rosaries and crucifixes?” Cardinal Monsengwo asked. “Are we now living in an open prison?”

During Jan. 21 demonstrations against Kabila, six people were shot dead by security forces, and dozens more were wounded. Hundreds have been detained, including at least a dozen priests and nuns, The Guardian reports.

The protests were organized by the Lay Coordination Committee of the DRC, which has the backing of many clerics in the country.

Arrests were also reported in Mbuji-Mayi, Goma, and Lubumbashi.

The US Department of State said Jan. 23 that “We are appalled that the DRC government, including President Kabila, would employ repressive tactics and disproportionate use of lethal force against civilians – including religious leaders and children – exercising their democratic rights to call for credible and inclusive elections.”

“The use of lethal force against Congolese citizens, and the cutting of internet and SMS service, undermine the democratic process, obstruct implementation of the St. Sylvestre Accord and contravene international human rights norms,” added State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert.

The latest demonstrations and arrests follow a similar incident on Dec. 31, 2017. Then, several protestors were killed and more than 120 arrested, most of them in Kinshasa.

The bishops in the DRC have asked that Kabila not seek a third term as president. He has been in power since 2001. With about half the population identifying as Catholic, the Church in the DRC is one of the country’s most important institutions.

The Church played a crucial role as mediator in negotiations that led to an agreement reached at the end of 2016 that Kabila would step down following elections to be held in 2017. Those elections were not held, and have now been delayed until December.

The delay in elections has been attributed by the government to difficulties with voter registration.

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