UN Troops in the DRC

On February 15, 70 bodies of Christian men, women, elderly, and children, were found in a church in Maiba village in Lubero territory in North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The victims were found bound and decapitated. No one has claimed responsibility, but suspicion points toward the Allied Democratic Force (ADF), a militia group with ties to ISIS.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), one of the pope’s charitable organizations, says that the ADF has been operating in Uganda and in the DRC for over a decade, terrorizing the population. “Islamist groups have stepped up attacks and assaults on isolated villages, already killing thousands of Congolese civilians,” ACN reports. There are many militia groups in the east DRC, fighting to control territory and the rich mineral resources of the region. Thousands have been killed and millions more displaced.

Maria Lazano, Director of the ACN International Press and Media Departments, cautioned against attributing this latest massacre to anti-Christian persecution. “We cannot speak of persecution across the entire country,” Lazano said, “as most of the violence occurring in the DRC has no religious connection. It is important to be cautious and avoid oversimplifying or misleading people in our analysis.” Many milita groups force civilians they’ve taken hostage to carry the loot they’ve pillaged as they march through the country. If a person grows tired during this forced march, they are killed. Lazano explained that the people having been killed in a church doesn’t necessarily imply persecution of Christians. It may simply be that the church was the easiest place to dispose of them. “Most of the fighting in the DRC,” Lazano said, “is related to competition for resources.”

Even still, that doesn’t rule out anti-Christian animus as a motive in these killings. Lazano said, “In recent years, the ADF, with ties to the Islamic State, has been responsible for violent incursions, and it has been reported that this group specifically targets Christians. … We’ve reported about attacks from ADF against Christians in 2021 and 2023; and in fact, the Islamic State itself claimed responsibility for attacks in North Kivu.”

Regardless of the motives, the fact that thousands have been killed and millions displaced in this war for resources and religious domination represents a massive humanitarian crisis. So, why aren’t we hearing about it? In an internet search for reports on the massacre of 70 people in a church in the DRC, I found articles from Fox News and Newsweek. All of the others were articles in small Christians journals or journals specifically related to Christian persecution or international charities. There was nothing in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the AP, Reuters, TIME, or CNN.

I have my suspicions. In the West, journalists don’t care much about what it happening in Africa. Africa may as well be Antarctica as far as they are concerned when it comes to stories they regard as important, or what people in the West want to hear about. The BBC will occasionally carry something about Christian persecution in Nigeria and the DRC, but only occasionally, and there is nothing about this recent massacre. The West gets many critical minerals from Africa, including cobalt from the DRC, control of which is one of the reasons the milita are fighting. But, let’s face it, Africa is a continent populated by Arabs in the Sahara regions and Black Africans in the sub-Sahara. What do we care about them, except to get the resources we need and get out? So what if Christians are persecuted in Nigeria to the tune of 50,000 killed over the last decade? So what if thousands have been killed and millions displaced in sub-Sahara Africa? So long as we’re getting what we need out of the continent, what else is there to care about?

For reference, the hugely important story about transgender actor Hunter Schafer’s passport pronouns being changed back to male was carried in the Washington Post, the LA Times, AP, CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC, CNN, US News & World Report (really?), Forbes, Variety, Rolling Stone, and many more – none of which had room in their journals to mention the massacre in Africa.

That may be the attitude secularists and economists and business people have toward Africa. But it cannot be the attitude of Christians toward Africa. Our confreres in the faith are being kidnapped, exploited, enslaved, displaced, and killed. It cannot be that we simply sit by and watch it happen without doing what we can to help. Pray, yes, but also act. We can support those organizations that are active in supporting our confreres in a continent torn by war and religious persecution.

Aid to the Church in Need and Catholic Relief Services are two such organizations. Give some thought and prayer to supporting either or both. It is what we can do, and we cannot simply do nothing.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.