Vatican newspaper highlights ‘year of pain and violence’ in eastern DR Congo

January 31, 2026

With the headline “Un anno di dolore e violenze” (A year of pain and violence), L’Osservatore Romano devoted the most prominent front-page article in its January 30 edition to the plight of the people of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the conquest of much of the area by the March 23 (M23) Movement.

“After the occupation by M23 militias of the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu, poverty has inexorably increased in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and the number of displaced people has grown enormously,” the newspaper reported, as Marina Piccone discussed “a year of violence, massacres of civilians, displacement, looting, forced disappearances, and recruitment of child soldiers.”

The front-page article was accompanied by two others:

• “Il dramma dell’est congolese nella morsa di povertà e sfollamenti“ (The drama of eastern Congo in the grip of poverty and displacement) by Marina Piccone
• “Quando Goma divenne spettrale“ (When Goma became ghostly) by Giada Aquilino

 

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Further information:

• Un anno di dolore e violenze (L'Osservatore Romano, 1/30/26)