The Catholic Church enters into open resistance and defies the power in Kinshasa (p. 2). Faced with the majority's maneuvers to amend the Constitution (p. 2), the bishops of the CENCO slam their fists on the table: "The Nation is in peril!" (p. 1) The episcopate denounces an unacceptable political power grab (p. 2).
The prelates are no longer mincing words. They are condemning an official campaign conducted in a climate of terror (p. 2). The majority is using public funds to silence dissenting voices (p. 2). Worse still, the police are allied with the "Force of Progress" militia to repress the opposition (p. 2). Meanwhile, the country is sinking deeper into poverty (p. 1). War is raging in the East under the helpless gaze of the authorities (p. 1). The AFC/M23 and the ADF-Nalu are massacring the population with complete impunity (p. 1).
For the CENCO (National Episcopal Conference of Congo), the goal of this revision is clear: to grant the president lifelong power (p. 2). This ambition breaks the Republican Pact (p. 2). Tampering with Article 220, a bulwark against dictatorship, is a provocation (p. 2). The Church warns that this power grab will lead straight to balkanization and civil war (p. 2). The priority is not the maintenance of privileges, but peace and unity (p. 2).
The bishops urge the head of state to respect his oath (p. 4). They call on the people to block this imposture by all legal means (p. 4). The Church refuses to capitulate to the privatization of the state (p. 2).
A fitting adage : the blind force of a power that confiscates the law always ends up breaking the pillars of its own house.
Note: The full text is attached.
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