The apology letter penned by the nine bishops constituting the Catholic Episcopal Conference of Rwanda – the Church’s supreme organ in the country – over the role of some of the Church’s clergymen and faithful in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi is yet to be read out in some of the churches as directed, The New Times can report.

The joint statement, signed by the nine bishops representing nine Catholic Church dioceses across the country, was released last week, with a directive that it be read out during mass last Sunday.

But some Christians who attended mass last Sunday have since told this newspaper the apology was not read out as expected, with many admitting they only heard about it in the media.

"My understanding is that it would have made more sense if it had been read during mass since it was meant for the ordinary Catholic faithful. However, we are hoping Church leaders will make time to deliver the message during accordingly in due course,” said Espérance Murekatete, who goes to one of the parishes in the City of Kigali.

Father Martin Uwamungu, the head priest of Kacyiru Parish in Kigali’s Gasabo District, admitted that many Catholic churches in Kigali did not read out the message in all the masses.

Fr Uwamungu, who is also the head of Kicukiro Episcopal Zone that covers four parishes; namely, Kicukiro, Gikondo, Regina Pacis (Remera) and Kacyiru, said the message was lengthy and could not be summarised as it needed to be delivered in its entirety.

"The guidelines directed the churches to deliver the statement at convenient times. In our case, we had multiple masses with short intervals in between. We read out the apology during the 11a.m-1p.m mass,” Fr Uwamungu said, adding that his church conducts 12 masses every Sunday.

The priest, however, noted that the apology would be to read out in subsequent masses to make sure the message reaches all faithful.

"Normally whenever we have a long announcement to make at the end of mass, we summarise it; however, we could not do so for this particular message, we’re talking of a statement signed by all the bishops…the idea is to ensure it is gradually read out in full in every mass in the near future,” he added.

However, the apology was read out at least once in every Catholic church in Kigali, he added.

"I hope that the message will reach many people. We are also using different platforms such as social media, including through WhatsApp groups, to ensure it reaches as many believers as possible. We will also pin the announcement on the notice boards and distribute hard copies to Christians,” he said.

He added that the instructions regarding the delivery of the message put into consideration the fact that churches with multiple masses had limited time to read out the statement on the same day.

Philippe Rukamba, the Bishop of Butare Diocese who doubles as the Chairperson of the Catholic Episcopal Conference of Rwanda, said the message was read out in all the masses outside Kigali but acknowledged that this was not necessarily the case in the capital.

He partly attributed this to the fact that the Bishop of Kigali, Monsignor Thaddée Ntihinyurwa, was out of the country.

"I know the announcement was not read in some masses in Kigali; their bishop is not in the country and, hopefully, they will read out it when he is back, every diocese is led by its bishop and nobody else,” he said.

Diogène Bideri, the Principle Legal Advisor at the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), said it is critical that the statement is read out in every mass.

"I think the issue of time should not arise at all,” he said. "We cannot force them to do it because it is at their discretion but I think it’s extremely important that the message therein reaches all the Catholic faithful and all Rwandans,” said Bideri.

Over the last 22 years, the Catholic Church in Rwanda has been under fire for allegedly protecting some of its priests linked to the Genocide, with some suspects and convicts still conducting masses abroad, including in France, where Father Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, who was convicted by a Gacaca court, remains a serving priest.

Thousands of Tutsi sought refuge in Catholic churches across Rwanda when the Genocide broke out in 1994 only to be butchered at the places of worship, many betrayed by the same men and women of God they initially hoped would protect them from the marauding killers.

In some extreme cases, some clerics openly took part in the slaughter that claimed at least a million lives, while some churches have since been turned into Genocide memorials.

Analysts have welcomed the Catholic Church’s apology although, they say, it falls short of acknowledging the Church’s key role in sowing the seeds of hatred and division and ultimately backing the genocidal regime in its apocalyptic agenda or doing nothing to stop the killings.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw