The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported that the 14 Catholics, several of them very young, were killed in North Kivu by members of the ISIS-affiliated militia called the "Allied Democratic Forces."

Diverging from his prepared statements on May 25, the pope said: "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."

Francis added that "their throats were slit simply because they were Christians and didn't want to convert to Islam."

According to a report by International Christian Concern (ICC), the Allied Democratic Forces also carried out an attack on the Christian village of Ndimo in Ituri state.

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The National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) recently issued a 19-page internal document, "At the School of Jesus Christ: for an authentic priestly life."

The paper aims to "break the silence" on this issue.

The bishops, who reviewed the text during their March plenary assembly, have not yet made the document public outside of clerical circles.

In the text, the bishops express sorrow, "noting" that some priests "do not lead an authentic priestly life."

They emphasise "the incompatibility of the responsibility of fatherhood with ministry and priestly life in the Roman Catholic system". The bishops insist on the need for these priests to adopt "a responsible behaviour towards children born of a woman and a priest."

They urge priests to "take complete care of them and to request a dispensation from priestly obligations from the Holy Father."

The document was sent to all priests in the 48 dioceses of DR Congo on March 4. This was one day after it was officially announced that Pope Francis would be visiting the country from July 2-5.

Pope Francis has made the fight against all sorts of abuse in the Church one of his major battles.

While he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis expressed himself on the issue in a book entitled 'On Heaven and Earth'.

"If a priest comes to me and says that he has got a woman pregnant, I gradually help him understand that natural law takes precedence over his rights as a priest," he explained.

"As a result, he has to leave the ministry and take responsibility for the child, even if he decides not to marry the woman" the future pope said. "Because if he has the right to have a mother, the child also has the right to have a father with a face."

Nearly a dozen Catholic priests have been dismissed in the DR Congo this year for reasons that have never been made clear.

The press releases announcing the dismissals have attracted attention precisely because of their evasiveness.

The Diocese of Tshumbe said it had dismissed three priests in March without providing a reason. Inquiries were met with a wall of silence.

Sources

La Croix International

Xaverian International

The Mass included traditional Congolese music and the Zaire Use of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite (Zaire Use).

An inculturated liturgy can teach Catholics to better appreciate the diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit, Francis said on Tuesday.

In the preface to a new book ("Pope Francis and the ‘Roman Missal for the Dioceses of Zaire'", he explained:

"This process ... is an invitation to value the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are a treasure for all humanity."

The Zaire Use - which Francis celebrated last year - was formally approved in 1988 for the dioceses of what was then known as the Republic of Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

It was the only inculturated Eucharistic celebration approved after the Second Vatican Council.

The Zaire Use was developed after a call to adapt the liturgy in "Sacrosanctum concilium," Vatican II's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.

"One of the main contributions of the Second Vatican Council was precisely that of proposing norms for adapting to the disposition and traditions of various peoples," Francis said on Tuesday.

"The experience of the Congolese rite of the celebration of Mass can serve as an example and model for other cultures."

Francis added his voice to that of Pope St John Paul II, who in 1988 urged the bishops of Congo to complete the Congolese rite by adapting the other sacraments and sacramentals.

Speaking of his new book, Francis said the subtitle, "A Promising Rite for Other Cultures," "indicates the fundamental reason behind this publication: a book that is the testimony of a celebration lived with faith and joy."

Referring to his post-synodal apostolic exhortation "Querida Amazonia," Francis said:

"We can take up into the liturgy many elements proper to the experience of indigenous peoples in their contact with nature, and respect native forms of expression in song, dance, rituals, gestures and symbols.

"The Second Vatican Council called for this effort to inculturate the liturgy among indigenous peoples; over 50 years have passed and we still have far to go along these lines."

The authors' basis for drafting the new book involved "The spiritual and ecclesial significance and the pastoral purpose of the Eucharistic celebration in the Congolese Rite," said Francis.

"The principles of the need for scientific study, adaptation and active participation in the Liturgy, strongly desired by the Council, have guided the authors of this volume.

"This publication, dear brothers and sisters, reminds us that the true protagonist of the Congolese Rite is the People of God who sing and praise God, the God of Jesus Christ who saved us."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Catholic News Agency