DRC: unanimous tributes after the death of Cardinal Monsengwo
Cardinal Monsengwo during a mass in Kinshasa on September 21, 2016. AFP - EDUARDO SOTERAS
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4 min
Tributes are increasing in the DRC after the death of Laurent Monsengwo, cardinal and archbishop emeritus of Kinshasa.
He was the best-known figure of the Catholic Church in Congo, president of the Episcopal Conference of Zaire, already critical at the time of Marshal Mobutu.
Despite his opposition to all regimes for 30 years, the tributes on Sunday night were unanimous.
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With our correspondent in Kinshasa,
Sonia Rolley
President Tshisekedi "
salutes a prince of the Church who worked for a long time in the service of the people
".
Its main opponent Martin Fayulu describes Cardinal Monsengwo as "the
cement of national cohesion
".
Former vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba says he keeps "
the image of a cheerful, altruistic and devoted Father for the Church of Congo
".
The former governor of Katanga, Moise Katumbi, that of a courageous shepherd attached to cultivating love between all Congolese.
President Tshisekedi pays homage to this Prince of the Church who worked for a long time in the service of the people.
Cardinal Monsengwo was one of the major players in the democratization of our country.
- RDC Presidency 🇨🇩 (@Presidence_RDC) July 11, 2021
Even in the camp of ex-president Joseph Kabila, his former diplomatic adviser Barnabé Kikaya hails “
a great man and a fine political actor
”.
Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo was a pillar of democratization in his country.
This is what everyone recognizes.
For the role he played at the time of the sovereign national conference of course, but he remained a reference among young people, like those of Lucha, the citizen movement, who say they are deeply saddened by the death of Cardinal Monsengwo for whom he was "
a model of commitment and courage in the face of the denial of democracy and the injustices that endure
".
►Also read: DRC: Cardinal Monsengwo, Archbishop Emeritus of Kinshasa, died in France
For Monsignor Fridolin Ambongo who succeeded him as head of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa, Cardinal Monsengwo “
was this major moral authority towards whom many people were still going. Everyone still remembers him during the Sovereign National Conference with his calm, very balanced temperament, quiet even in the midst of the political tensions that there was under Mobutu. He was always a measured man who tried to bring people back to basics and all his life it has been like that
”.
For Isidore Ndaywel, the Congolese historian, specialist in the Catholic Church, who was at the head of the secular coordinating committee at the origin of the Christian marches of 2017 and 2018, "
the Congolese people have just lost in themselves the one of its greatest defenders
”.
This is very sad news and we all remain Congolese in this great emotion and offer our condolences to all those who love this country.
Isidore Ndaywel, Congolese historian and specialist of the Catholic Church
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