Bishops appeal to leaders for peace

A conference of Roman Catholic bishops of Africa's Great Lakes countries appealed on Thursday to national leaders to shun personal interests and work to re-establish peace in a region dogged by years of widespread conflict, Rwandan Bishop Kizito Bahujimihigo told IRIN. He was speaking in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after some 50 bishops from that country, Burundi and Rwanda held talks with President Joseph Kabila on the question of war and peace in the region. During their five-day meeting in Kinshasa, the bishops examined social and economic developmental questions related to stability in the region, and decided to dedicate Christmas 2002 as a day of prayer for peace. The bishops had in May discussed these same issues with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, following the bishops' last confernce in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. "Even though we've already made this appeal, we have decided to do so again [in Kinshasa], because we are trying to meet all the main actors [in the region]," Bahujimihigo said. Monsignor Frederic Rubejangwa, the bishop of Kibongo in Rwanda, added: "We have asked the leaders of our three countries to consecrate a day each to think about peace."