Pope Francis “I join with all my heart in mourning,” - Remembering Rwanda's Genocide 20th anniversary
(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. 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.
Text from Vatican Radio website
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