Rwanda genocide: Catholic church sorry for role of priests and nuns in killings
This article is more than2 years old
‘We didn’t show that we are one family but instead killed each other,’ say bishops in statement marking the end of the holy year of mercy
Associated Press
Sun 20 Nov 201619.15 EST
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Necklaces and crucifixes hang over a pile of shoes belonging to some of those who were slaughtered as they sought refuge inside a church in Ntarama, Rwanda. On Sunday, the Catholic Church in Rwanda apologised for its role in the 1994 genocide. Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP
The Catholic church inRwandaapologised on Sunday for the church’s role in the 1994 genocide, saying it regretted the actions of those who participated in the massacres.
“We apologize for all the wrongs the church committed. We apologize on behalf of all Christians for all forms of wrongs we committed. We regret that church members violated [their] oath of allegiance to God’s commandments,” said the statement by the Conference of Catholic Bishops, which was read out in parishes across the country.
The statement acknowledged that church members planned, aided and carried out the genocide, in which more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists.
In the years since the genocide – which was sparked by a contentious plane crash that killed the president, Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu – the local church had resisted efforts by the government and groups of survivors to acknowledge the church’s complicity in mass murder, saying those church officials who committed crimes acted individually.
Many of the victims died at the hands of priests, clergymen and nuns, according to some accounts by survivors, and the Rwandan government said many died in the churches where they sought refuge.
The bishops’ statement is seen as a positive development in Rwanda’s efforts at reconciliation.
“Forgive us for the crime of hate in the country to the extent of also hating our colleagues because of their ethnicity. We didn’t show that we are one family but instead killed each other,” the statement said.
Bishop Phillipe Rukamba, spokesman for the Catholic church in Rwanda, said the statement was timed to coincide with the formal end on Sunday of theholy year of mercydeclared by Pope Francis to encourage greater reconciliation and forgiveness in his church and the world.
Tom Ndahiro, a Rwandan genocide researcher, said he hoped the church’s statement would encourage unity among Rwandans.
“I am also happy to learn that in their statement, bishops apologise for not having been able to avert the genocide,” he said.
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The Guardian will engage with the most critical issues of our time – from the escalating climate catastrophe to widespread inequality to the influence of big tech on our lives. At a time when factual information is a necessity, we believe that each of us, around the world, deserves access to accurate reporting with integrity at its heart.
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The Catholic Church, the Rwandan Genocide, and Reconciliation In the Roman Catholic tradition, reconciliation is one of the seven sacraments. It is a doorway to the sacred where believers ask God for forgiveness and receive the healing grace of Jesus through absolution. Forgiveness and love are at the center of this sacrament and are at the heart of the Catholic faith. This focus on love and forgiveness is what creates a disturbing paradox as we analyze the Catholic Church’s role in the genocide against the Tutsis. The Catholic Church was the only religious institution present for the entire scope of the genocide, including developing the early 20thcentury ideological framework that established ethnic divided between the Rwandan people. Catholic churches were the sites of many massacres during the genocide. There are countless stories of Church officials who actively participated in the killings. How can people of faith participate in such horrific events? If the sacrament of reconciliation provides an individual path for forgiveness, what is the path for institutional forgiveness? This is a question that the people of Rwanda and the Catholic Church have been struggling with over the past twenty years. It is not easily answered, but recent developments have provided hope in the process of reconciliation. The Role of the Catholic Church Before the 1994 Genocide When we begin to answer the question about institutional reconciliation, we must look at how the Catholic Church participated in developing and cultivating ethnic 1 ideologies. Before the colonial period (1897) and before Catholic missionaries arrived, the people of Rwanda did not divide themselves along ethnic lines. In fact, the terms Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa were social/economic classifications referring to whether a person was part of a herding (Tutsi), agricultural (Hutu), or hunting community (Twa). The people of Rwanda spoke the same language and organized themselves by clans. As the German colonists and Catholic missionaries arrived, they needed a system that supported their governance and superiority over the people of Rwanda. Using these existing social groups, the colonists/missionaries propagated the idea that each of these groups was ethnically distinct, with the smaller Tutsi group being intellectually and physically superior to the larger Hutu group. When Belgian colonists established power after World War I, the Catholic Church aligned itself with the government. This was easier since Belgium was a majority Catholic country and the previous German colonists were Protestant). In the 1930’s, Catholic missionaries used their influence and power to help secure the banishment of the King of Rwanda, Yuhi Musinga, for the simple reason that he refused to be converted to Christianity. In 1943, when King Mutara III Rudahigwa was baptized, there was a wave of conversions. This was not necessarily because of profound faith experiences of the people, but because of the zeal of the missionaries. Think quantity over quality. The king’s baptism was based on advice from Bishop Leon Classe, advisor of the Belgian colonial administration. As a result of these conversions, there were now geographical centers to disseminate Christianity and a large increase in Church personnel. In 1946, the king truly enabled the Belgian colonists to reshape Rwandan society to European 2 and Roman Catholic values when he officially “consecrated the country of Rwanda to Christ.” With the end of WWII, there was a push to end colonial regimes around the world. The leaders in the Catholic Church took notice and began to align themselves with the Hutu majority instead of the Tutsi minority. They anticipated a change in leadership and were well established as advisors to the first Hutu leaders when Rwanda gained independence in 1962. Instead of an independence for all people of Rwanda, the government kept the strategy of ethnic divisions and developed a Hutu ideology that supported Hutu superiority. The Catholic Church was integral in shaping Hutu-centric curriculum in the schools and forming people’s beliefs about ethnic identity from the pulpit. Religious language (by publishers, not the Church) was used to spread hate. The Hutu Ten Commandments are a prime example of anti-Tutsi propaganda. These “commandments” were published in a Rwandan newspaper in 1990 and outlined Hutu responsibilities for maintaining power at the expense of the Tutsi minority. 98% of the country identified as Catholic, yet quotas were put into place in the seminaries so that 96% of men studying to become priests were Hutu. This is especially interesting when pondering the question of why did so many men and women religious (either by commission or omission) participate in the genocide? A particularly influential Catholic leader during the first and second republics was Archbishop Perraudin. He served as the Archbishop of Kigali and focused on the divide between Hutus and Tutsi, most publicly and notably in his Lenten letters which were read in all Catholic churches: 3
This article is more than2 years old
‘We didn’t show that we are one family but instead killed each other,’ say bishops in statement marking the end of the holy year of mercy
Associated Press
Sun 20 Nov 201619.15 EST
Shares
846
Necklaces and crucifixes hang over a pile of shoes belonging to some of those who were slaughtered as they sought refuge inside a church in Ntarama, Rwanda. On Sunday, the Catholic Church in Rwanda apologised for its role in the 1994 genocide. Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP
The Catholic church inRwandaapologised on Sunday for the church’s role in the 1994 genocide, saying it regretted the actions of those who participated in the massacres.
“We apologize for all the wrongs the church committed. We apologize on behalf of all Christians for all forms of wrongs we committed. We regret that church members violated [their] oath of allegiance to God’s commandments,” said the statement by the Conference of Catholic Bishops, which was read out in parishes across the country.
The statement acknowledged that church members planned, aided and carried out the genocide, in which more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists.
In the years since the genocide – which was sparked by a contentious plane crash that killed the president, Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu – the local church had resisted efforts by the government and groups of survivors to acknowledge the church’s complicity in mass murder, saying those church officials who committed crimes acted individually.
Many of the victims died at the hands of priests, clergymen and nuns, according to some accounts by survivors, and the Rwandan government said many died in the churches where they sought refuge.
The bishops’ statement is seen as a positive development in Rwanda’s efforts at reconciliation.
“Forgive us for the crime of hate in the country to the extent of also hating our colleagues because of their ethnicity. We didn’t show that we are one family but instead killed each other,” the statement said.
Bishop Phillipe Rukamba, spokesman for the Catholic church in Rwanda, said the statement was timed to coincide with the formal end on Sunday of theholy year of mercydeclared by Pope Francis to encourage greater reconciliation and forgiveness in his church and the world.
Tom Ndahiro, a Rwandan genocide researcher, said he hoped the church’s statement would encourage unity among Rwandans.
“I am also happy to learn that in their statement, bishops apologise for not having been able to avert the genocide,” he said.
Since you’re here…
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading and supporting The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism than ever before. And unlike many news organisations, we have chosen an approach that allows us to keep our journalism accessible to all, regardless of where they live or what they can afford. But we need your ongoing support to keep working as we do.
The Guardian will engage with the most critical issues of our time – from the escalating climate catastrophe to widespread inequality to the influence of big tech on our lives. At a time when factual information is a necessity, we believe that each of us, around the world, deserves access to accurate reporting with integrity at its heart.
Our editorial independence means we set our own agenda and voice our own opinions. Guardian journalism is free from commercial and political bias and not influenced by billionaire owners or shareholders. This means we can give a voice to those less heard, explore where others turn away, and rigorously challenge those in power.
The Catholic Church, the Rwandan Genocide, and Reconciliation In the Roman Catholic tradition, reconciliation is one of the seven sacraments. It is a doorway to the sacred where believers ask God for forgiveness and receive the healing grace of Jesus through absolution. Forgiveness and love are at the center of this sacrament and are at the heart of the Catholic faith. This focus on love and forgiveness is what creates a disturbing paradox as we analyze the Catholic Church’s role in the genocide against the Tutsis. The Catholic Church was the only religious institution present for the entire scope of the genocide, including developing the early 20thcentury ideological framework that established ethnic divided between the Rwandan people. Catholic churches were the sites of many massacres during the genocide. There are countless stories of Church officials who actively participated in the killings. How can people of faith participate in such horrific events? If the sacrament of reconciliation provides an individual path for forgiveness, what is the path for institutional forgiveness? This is a question that the people of Rwanda and the Catholic Church have been struggling with over the past twenty years. It is not easily answered, but recent developments have provided hope in the process of reconciliation. The Role of the Catholic Church Before the 1994 Genocide When we begin to answer the question about institutional reconciliation, we must look at how the Catholic Church participated in developing and cultivating ethnic 1 ideologies. Before the colonial period (1897) and before Catholic missionaries arrived, the people of Rwanda did not divide themselves along ethnic lines. In fact, the terms Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa were social/economic classifications referring to whether a person was part of a herding (Tutsi), agricultural (Hutu), or hunting community (Twa). The people of Rwanda spoke the same language and organized themselves by clans. As the German colonists and Catholic missionaries arrived, they needed a system that supported their governance and superiority over the people of Rwanda. Using these existing social groups, the colonists/missionaries propagated the idea that each of these groups was ethnically distinct, with the smaller Tutsi group being intellectually and physically superior to the larger Hutu group. When Belgian colonists established power after World War I, the Catholic Church aligned itself with the government. This was easier since Belgium was a majority Catholic country and the previous German colonists were Protestant). In the 1930’s, Catholic missionaries used their influence and power to help secure the banishment of the King of Rwanda, Yuhi Musinga, for the simple reason that he refused to be converted to Christianity. In 1943, when King Mutara III Rudahigwa was baptized, there was a wave of conversions. This was not necessarily because of profound faith experiences of the people, but because of the zeal of the missionaries. Think quantity over quality. The king’s baptism was based on advice from Bishop Leon Classe, advisor of the Belgian colonial administration. As a result of these conversions, there were now geographical centers to disseminate Christianity and a large increase in Church personnel. In 1946, the king truly enabled the Belgian colonists to reshape Rwandan society to European 2 and Roman Catholic values when he officially “consecrated the country of Rwanda to Christ.” With the end of WWII, there was a push to end colonial regimes around the world. The leaders in the Catholic Church took notice and began to align themselves with the Hutu majority instead of the Tutsi minority. They anticipated a change in leadership and were well established as advisors to the first Hutu leaders when Rwanda gained independence in 1962. Instead of an independence for all people of Rwanda, the government kept the strategy of ethnic divisions and developed a Hutu ideology that supported Hutu superiority. The Catholic Church was integral in shaping Hutu-centric curriculum in the schools and forming people’s beliefs about ethnic identity from the pulpit. Religious language (by publishers, not the Church) was used to spread hate. The Hutu Ten Commandments are a prime example of anti-Tutsi propaganda. These “commandments” were published in a Rwandan newspaper in 1990 and outlined Hutu responsibilities for maintaining power at the expense of the Tutsi minority. 98% of the country identified as Catholic, yet quotas were put into place in the seminaries so that 96% of men studying to become priests were Hutu. This is especially interesting when pondering the question of why did so many men and women religious (either by commission or omission) participate in the genocide? A particularly influential Catholic leader during the first and second republics was Archbishop Perraudin. He served as the Archbishop of Kigali and focused on the divide between Hutus and Tutsi, most publicly and notably in his Lenten letters which were read in all Catholic churches: 3
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The brainwashing is too strong.
