Africa-Press – Eritrea. Pope Leo XIV has expressed his sorrow at Sunday’s attack on Christian worshippers in the DRC by an affiliate of the so-called Islamic State.
The victims were taking part in an all-night vigil in a church in Ituri province, when fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces attacked them with machetes. Nine of those killed were children.
“I renew my deep pain for the brutal terrorist attack that occurred on the night between 26 and 27 July in Komanda, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where more than 40 Christians were killed in a church during a prayer vigil and in their homes,” Leo said in Italian, reading from a statement.
“While I entrust the victims to God’s loving mercy, I pray for the wounded and for Christians who around the world continue to suffer violence and persecution, exhorting all those with responsibility at the local and international level to collaborate to prevent similar tragedies.”
Wednesday’s general audience marked the resumption of Leo’s weekly encounter with the faithful following a weeks-long summer break.
Helsinki Accords
Leo also called for a renewed commitment to diplomacy to resolve conflicts, as he marked the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Accords, the landmark Cold War-era agreement that ushered in a new era of security and human rights.
At the end of his general audience, history’s first American pope recalled that August 1 marks the anniversary of the conclusion of the 35-nation summit in Finland that resulted in the Helsinki Final Act, which years later helped give birth to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Renewing his appeal for peace in the world, Leo said: “Today, more than ever, it is imperative to cherish the spirit of Helsinki, persevere in dialogue, strengthen cooperation and make diplomacy the preferred way to prevent and resolve conflicts.”
At the height of the Cold War detente in the 1970s, Finnish President Urho Kekkonen hosted the U.S.-Soviet summit where U.S. President Gerald Ford, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and others signed a watershed commitment to peace, East-West contacts, European security and human rights.
Leo said the agreement had “inaugurated a new geopolitical season, favoring a rapprochement between East and West. It marked a renewed interest in human rights with particular attention to religious freedom, considered one of the fundamentals of the nascent architecture of cooperation from Vancouver to Vladivostok.”
With Russia’s war raging in Ukraine, Leo recalled that the Holy See had participated actively in the Finnish summit with its future secretary of state Archbishop Agostino Casaroli, best known for having promoted and pursued a policy of Ostpolitik, or openness and dialogue with Eastern Europe.
St. Peter’s Square was particularly full, given the arrival of tens of thousands of pilgrims in town for a weeklong Holy Year celebration for young Catholics.
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