At the conclusion of the funeral Mass for Fr. Justin Mbaya Kanyimbu at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Lubumbashi, Catholic clergy demanded action from the Democratic Republic of the Congo government against repeated armed incursions targeting religious personnel. The statement was delivered on November 10, 2026, by the Vice President of the Archdiocese's Presbyteral Council.
Bandits, sometimes armed with weapons of war and machetes, storm religious communities, attacking, threatening, robbing and traumatizing those who have chosen to devote their lives to the service of the Gospel and society. The council's intervention highlighted how criminal groups in Haut-Katanga Province have repeatedly raided convents, rectories, and Church property during the night.
Clergy members reported that security conditions across urban and surrounding sectors of Lubumbashi have steadily deteriorated. The Presbyteral Council described its public message as a call of alarm in response to a cycle of violence that makes continued silence impossible.
Presbyteries and convents designed for prayer, hospitality, and pastoral work have instead been turned into sites of persistent anxiety. Church officials noted that daily ministry is compromised when fear becomes an accepted presence in the lives of priests and religious sisters.
The statement read at the cathedral emphasized that the lives of Church personnel carry the exact same value under the law as those of any other Congolese citizen. Sacerdotal leaders urged law enforcement to secure religious residences against organized raids.
Checkpoints fail to halt nighttime violence
During the address, council members directly questioned the efficiency of local security forces. The archdiocese pointed out that despite security roadblocks established across the city throughout the night, armed gangs continue to pass through controls to carry out robberies.
Priests asked government leaders why intelligence services have not dismantled the networks responsible for the repeated assaults. The council called for thorough investigations to identify perpetrators, accomplices, and any figures directing the attacks.
As reported by ACI Africa, the presbyteral leadership insisted that ecclesiastical spaces must not be left unprotected against criminal groups.
The role of state authority in public safety
The council stressed that its appeal did not seek special favors or elevated status for Church personnel. Security is not an exclusively religious matter but a concern for the entire community, the statement noted, urging broader civic solidarity.
Scripture touches on the duty of civil governance in maintaining public order, such as Romans 13:4, which describes the magistrate as assigned to preserve good order and restrain wrongdoing. Grounded in this principle, the clergy affirmed that the state bears a duty to protect human life before irreversible tragedies occur.
Our Church prays for peace, but it also has the duty to denounce everything that destroys peace, the council declared at the cathedral. Sacerdotal leaders urged citizens not to grow accustomed to violence or accept fear as normal.
We do not ask for any privilege; we simply demand the fundamental right to live and carry out our mission in safety, the message concluded. The Presbyteral Council is awaiting official action from Haut-Katanga provincial authorities to restore order.
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