Pope Francis Apologizes for Catholics' Participation in Rwanda Genocide
Pope Francis begged for God's forgiveness for the "sins and failings of the Church and its members" at the time of the Rwandan genocide. He acknowledged that priests, nuns and members of the Church had succumbed to hatred and violence by taking part in the 1994 killings.
The pontiff made the apology before Rwandan President Paul Kugame and wife Jeannette Nyiramongi during an audience at the Apostolic Palace in Rome. He "expressed the desire that this humble recognition of the failings of that period, which, unfortunately, disfigured the face of the Church, may contribute to a 'purification of memory'" and promote "renewed trust."
Violence engulfed Rwanda when the plane carrying President Juvénal Habyarimana was shot down. The incident sparked mass killings mostly against ethnic Tutsis. The Church was compromised by its long-standing political ties to the ruling Hutu elite. Archbishop Vincent Nsengiyumva who sat on the ruling party's central committee for almost 15 years tolerated policies that discriminated the Tutsis.
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Thousands who sought refuge in churches were butchered after being turned over by priests to Hutu militiamen. One of those charged by the United Nation's international criminal tribunal for Rwanda was Fr. Wenceslas Munyeshyaka who helped draw up a list of people to be killed and young women to be raped.
Between April and July 1994, up to 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists. For the next two decades, the Holy See maintained that the crimes were committed by the individual clergy and that the Church bore no institutional responsibility.
A Catholic network helped priests and nuns who participated in the violence escape to Europe and evade justice. Rwanda's population is overwhelmingly Christian with similar numbers of Catholics and Protestants. But the genocide has discredited the Catholic Church and many have since turned to Pentecostal churches.
