{The Bishop of Kabgayi diocese, Smaragde Mbonyintege has said that parts of the Catholic apology that were not well understood will gradually be addressed through calm discussions aimed at building the church and maintain the country’s development vision. }
In November 2016, a statement signed by eight Catholic Church bishops was released with a message apologizing for some Catholic Church members who took part in the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.
The statement triggered heated arguments among Rwandans who reacted against the way the message was delivered saying the apology is wanting.
While celebrating the Christmas mass yesterday at Kabgayi diocese, Bishop Mbonyintege said the Catholic Church has kept record of reactions that followed the apology.
“I thank all Christians who took time to understand the statement and informed us though many great things were talked about it. However, I never heard anyone claiming it to be false but many tell us that the apology is incomplete. We don’t disregard it, we are thinking about it,” he said.
He explained that solutions for contested ideas about the apology will be attained through discussions.
“In a complexity of understandings and thinking of Rwandans inside the country and abroad, there are many things that can cause understandings. In some cases, solutions will be attained through calm discussions aimed at building the church and our country development,” he said.
During the 14th National Dialogue (Umushyikirano), President Paul Kagame said that he doesn’t understand why the Pope doesn’t apologize for the church members’ role in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi yet he did it in other countries and instances with lesser offences compared to what happened in Rwanda.
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