Pope Leo says praying for victims of Islamist DR Congo church attack
Pope Leo XIV expressed his "profound grief" Monday
over a deadly Islamist attack on a church in the DR Congo's northeast, saying
he was praying for the victims and their families.
Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) fighters raided a Catholic church in the town of Komanda, killing 43 people who had gathered for prayer, the United Nations and the Democratic Republic of Congo's military have said.
Nine children were among those killed.
"His Holiness Pope Leo XIV learned with consternation and profound grief about the attack perpetrated against the Bienheureuse-Anuarite parish in Komanda," wrote Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See's secretary of state, in a telegram to Congolese Archbishop Fulgence Muteba Mugalu.
He said the new pope was joining the families of the victims and the Christian community in the region "in prayer".
"This tragedy invites us to work even harder for the integral human development of the scarred population of this region," said the telegram.
"His Holiness implores God that the blood of these martyrs may be a seed of peace, reconciliation, brotherhood and love for all the Congolese people."
The attack in Komanda ended a months-long period of relative calm in the Ituri region, which borders Uganda.
Drawing its ranks from former Ugandan and mostly Muslim fighters, the ADF have killed thousands of civilians and ramped up looting in the northeastern DRC.
Both the Ugandan and Congolese armies have sent troops to the region to tackle the militia, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2019.
