Rwandan bishops beg pardon for Christian involvement in 1994 massacres

November 22, 2016

The Catholic bishops of Rwanda have issued a public apology for the involvement of Catholics and Church officials in the genocidal massacres of 1994.

“We apologise for all the wrongs the Church committed. We apologise 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 bishops, in a statement issued by the Rwandan episcopal conference on the last day of the Year of Mercy. “Forgive us for the crime of hate in the country to the extent of also hating our colleagues because of their ethnicity,” the bishops pleaded.

Catholic priests and religious have been accused of inciting the spasm of violence against members of the Tutsi tribe, and in some cases Tutsis who sought refuge in Catholic churches were killed. An estimated 800,000 people were slaughtered in the massacres.

 

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Further information:

• Bishops apologise for Church’s role in Rwandan genociden (AP)