Congo missionaries combat war with fasting and abstinence (Congo).

Rome--Catholics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are fasting and abstaining for peace. The initiative, promoted by various organizations among which is the Justice Commission of the missionary religious congregations in Rome, has met with extraordinary success. Thousands of Christians around the world, many of them members of NGOs, have decided to remember in this way the drama being experienced by the people of this African country, in which the civil war, aggravated by the intervention of neighbouring countries, continues to harvest tens of thousands of innocent lives.

The campaign began on March 8 and was to end on April 8, a day that was to culminate with a meeting in the Roman Coliseum where numerous early Christians met their death.

The humanitarian drama in the Congo is manifested in absurd massacres. "We are faced with limitless violence," says a Missionary representative. "The whole society is totally unstable, and children, youths, and elderly must hide in the forests and go out at night in search of isolated places, anywhere, as their homes are not safe. This has caused a loss of the meaning of life and of hope in a better future. In spite of their willpower, the people are really suffering." (Zenit)