Pope Francis to Rwandan bishops: be instruments of reconciliation
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the bishops of Rwanda on Thursday, during the
course of their ad limina visits. In remarks prepared for the occasion and
delivered to the bishops during the audience in the Vatican, the Holy Father recalled
the genocide in the country, the 20th anniversary of the beginning of which
is to be marked in a few days’ time. “I join with all my heart in mourning,” said
Pope Francis, “and I assure you of my prayers for yourselves, for your often torn
communities, for all victims and their families, for all Rwandans,” regardless of
religion, ethnicity or political affiliation. Listen:
The Holy Father
went on to say that, two decades after these tragic events, reconciliation and the
healing of wounds remain the priority of the Church in Rwanda. He encouraged the bishops
to persevere in their commitment to healing and reconciliation. “Forgiveness of sins
and genuine reconciliation,” he said, a are a gift of Christ that it is possible
to receive,” even though they might seem to human sight to be impossible in the wake
of such suffering as the people of Rwanda have experienced, “even if the road is long
and requires patience, dialogue and mutual respect.” Pope Francis said, “The Church
has its place, therefore, in the reconstruction of a reconciled Rwandan society: with
all the strength of your faith and Christian hope.” He added, “go ahead vigorously,
constantly bearing witness to the truth.”
Calling on the bishops also to highlight
the contribution of the Church to the common good, and to concentrate especially on
education as a main key to the country’s future, Pope Francis said, “It is therefore
the duty of the Church to form children and young people in Gospel values, which they
shall find especially in a particular familiarity with the Word of God, which will
be for them like a compass indicating the route.”
Pope Francis also spoke
of the “crucial role” of the laity in evangelization and reconstruction, saying that
the bishops ought to give particular attention to training and support for lay people.
“In both their spiritual life and in their human and intellectual life, their formation
must be of high quality.” he said.
Pope Francis concluded on a Marian note,
praying that the Marian shrine at Kibeho, “might radiate even more the love of Mary
for her children, especially the poorest and most [gravely] injured, and be for the
Church of Rwanda – and beyond – a call to turn with confidence to Our Lady of Sorrows,”
by whose intercession Rwanda and the world might receive the gifts of reconciliation
and peace.