Attacks on Catholics and other Christians have been reported from this troubled central African country (Congo).

Kisangani--Attacks on Catholics and other Christians have been reported from this troubled central African country, dubbed by U.S. Ambassador, Richard Holbrooke," the graveyard of the United Nations".

For over two years fighting has gone on, initiated by rebels against President Laurant Kabila with the backing of troops from neighbouring nations, principally from Uganda and Rwanda. Some 1.7 million people are estimated to have died in eastern Congo since the inception of hostilities. In the eastern capital, Kisangani, centre of the lucrative diamond trade, Ugandan troops ignored international calls for a ceasefire and shelled the city for several days. Among the buildings hit was the Catholic cathedral, whose parishioners rushed to extinguish the fire and salvage materials. Another was the Benedictine monastery of St. Mary of Buenza, whose pharmaceutical laboratory produced medications for use in the country. The international agency Fides reports from Rome that church institutions have been consistently targeted by Ugandan and Rwandan military. One such institution destroyed was a major seminary at Murkesa. Parish priest Fr. George Kakuja of Kalonge was murdered in November 1999 and two bishops have been forced to leave their dioceses. Archbishop Lozano, the Apostolic Nuncio, speculates that anti-Catholic feeling may be engendered by the fact that, in a country rent asunder by factions, the Church, through its social work, is one of the few unifying factors. (Zenit)

Latest reports from Congo say that foreign troops are to leave and that a U.N. force is to be deployed there. However, on August 15 a meeting of the national leaders involved broke up in disarray when Kabila stalled on this proposal.