Pope Francis said (on May 25, during an audience with leaders of the Pontifical Mission Societies – OPM) that Christians in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had recently been murdered because they had refused to convert to Islam.
“I would like to stop and thank God for the testimony of martyrdom that a group of Catholics from Congo, from North Kivu, have given in recent days. Their throats were slit simply because they were Christians and didn’t want to convert to Islam,” said Pope Francis, leaving aside the text of his address.
According to the group International Christian Concern:
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which established ties with the Islamic State group in 2018 and seeks to establish Shariah throughout the region, often kidnaps Christians and kills those who refuse to convert to Islam.
North Kivu is a province in the north west. It borders both Uganda and Rwanda.
Our martyrs
The Pope then remembered the 21 Coptic martyrs murdered in 2015 on a beach in Libya by the Islamic State organization. “Those Copts whose throats were slit and who, on their knees, said: ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus’ … The martyred Church is the Church of the Lord’s tenacity,” the Pope said.
Those martyrs are now shared by the Catholic Church and the Coptic Church, as on May 11, 2023, in front of the patriarch who had come to the Vatican, Francis announced that the 21 Christian martyrs would be entered into the Roman martyrology.
Forgotten crisis
Two weeks ago, the Pontiff expressed his sadness at the “cowardly attack” that took place in the Mugunga refugee camp, resulting in the death of more than a dozen people.
On Monday, May 13, members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) carried out a brutal attack in Ndimo village, Ituri province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Islamic extremist group killed 11 Christians, kidnapped several others, and set houses on fire.
One survivor told ICC that the ADF rebels left many people homeless while other innocent civilians burned to ash.
“This horrific attack has left a trail of devastation and despair, with the loss of life and destruction of property reaching catastrophic proportions,” the survivor said. “The ruthless and barbaric actions of the ADF militants have plunged our once peaceful village into a state of fear, leaving us traumatized and vulnerable. The scale of the atrocities committed is beyond comprehension, as more than five families mourn their loved ones and struggle to come to terms with the senseless violence that has shattered our community.”
The ADF’s attack on Ndimo comes a month after the group killed seven people on April 11 near Beni.
Although the DRC is a Christian-majority country, more than 100 Islamist groups target Christians living in the east. The ADF, which established ties with the Islamic State group in 2018 and seeks to establish Shariah throughout the region, often kidnaps Christians and kills those who refuse to convert to Islam.
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