Rwandan President Paul Kagame met briefly with Pope Francis who voiced his sadness for members of the Church who participated in the 1994 genocide, asking for forgiveness and assuring those who still suffer of his prayer. The pope “conveyed his profound sadness, and that of the Holy See and of the Church, for the genocide against the Tutsi.”
“He expressed his solidarity with the victims and with those who continue to suffer the consequences of those tragic event,” said a Vatican communiqué. Francis implored God’s forgiveness “for the sins and failings of the Church and its members, among whom priests, and religious men and women who succumbed to hatred and violence, betraying their own evangelical mission.”
The genocide began April 7, 1994, after controversy over the plane crash that killed the then-president of Rwanda, a Hutu. In the aftermath, Hutu extremists killed over 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. About 57 percent of Rwanda is Catholic, with another 37 percent Protestant or Seventh-day Adventist. The churches have worked to bring about healing and reconciliation as well.
The pope’s meeting with President Kagame, which lasted around 25 minutes, took place inside the Vatican’s apostolic palace.
During the “cordial” discussion between the two, mention was also made of the good relations between the Church and the State in Rwanda. Specific appreciation was expressed for “the notable path of recovery toward the social, political and economic stabilization of the country.” Likewise, the collaboration between the State and the local Church in working for “national reconciliation and in the consolidation of peace” nationwide was also mentioned.
After the meeting, Pope Francis greeted the presidential delegation of 9 people, handing each of them a rosary, before exchanging gifts. Francis gave Kagame three books: his apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium,” his environmental encyclical Laudato Si, and his post-synodal exhortation “Amoris Laetitia.” He also gave the president a medal.
On his part, President Kagame gave the Pope a box with a black and white staff inside, explaining that “it’s a rod used to summon the people,” like a sort of “pastoral” hook.
After meeting the pope, Kagame then met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States.
“All the world wondered…” Revelation 13:3.