Peace possible if heart is healed

Archbishop Thaddée Ntihinyurwa, the Archbishop of Kigali (left), and Bishop Frédéric Rubwejanga, the Bishop of Kibungo - both from Rwanda [CAFOD]

Putting the lost years of the genocide behind them is vital if the Rwandan people are to build a future together, but learning to live together is not easy

There is an important tradition within Rwanda which is one of acceptance. Within your family, if you do something bad, you will be reintegrated so long as you acknowledge you have done wrong. Your apologies will be accepted by those closest to you.

But this is a country made up of communities which are no longer united - their bonds destroyed by the 1994 tribal genocide in which Hutu militias massacred 800,000 Tutsi civilians.

Since those painful days, the Catholic Church has been instrumental in trying to reconcile former neighbours and friends who found themselves on opposite sides during the killing spree.

Deep wounds

But Archbishop Thaddée Ntihinyurwa, the Archbishop of Kigali, says the process is proving a long one with many difficulties to be faced – and not just for those who suffered at the hands of the killers.

The wounds are so deep that it is vital that the work of the church gets through to the grassroots communities, and work with those who live together as neighbours.

He says: “Feeling sorry is the emotion we need to find, but there are still people who do not feel this way, so the situation becomes complicated.

“Then, on the other side, are the people who need to do the forgiving. Some of them have been harmed so much that they cannot forgive.”

To tackle such problems, the Catholic Church has found the authority of pastoral letters extremely useful, written on lessons about truth, justice, and forgiveness.

Savera and her daughter Marie-Chantal, who was conceived as a result of rape during the Rwandan genocide. Savera receives trauma counselling from CAFOD partner AVEGA. [Annie Bungeroth]

These are then read out in the local churches, and distributed to the community so that even those outside of the church can also learn.

Archbishop Ntihinyurwa says: “These small communities have to share their daily lives with each other, they need to look after each other, and help those that need it.

“The messages are sometimes accepted immediately by some but, with others, we have to work a bit harder and keep going back to convince them.”

Church as a focal point

The church has found that large public events can often make it easier for those who need to confess, and for those confessions to be accepted.

Bishop Frédéric Rubwejanga, the Bishop of Kibungo, says the church can help people initially come together after being, as he says, “fractured and separated” – and then acts as a public focal point for continuing the process of people learning how to live with each other again.

He says: “After all the crime and suffering, if people can sit down and read the Bible together, this is a new revelation for them.

“Before, many could not pray to the Father after losing someone close to them but, after going to church, they feel they can now pray again.

“You have to learn to forgive and understand that also means the need to forgive themselves as well as others. It is a lesson that, if they can listen, means they can change.”

Rwanda is a country still on a long and difficult journey out of its grief, and simply concentrating on rebuilding its institutions is not enough.

Archbishop Ntihinyurwa says: “We have learned from our crisis that you have to forgive in order to be forgiven. Within Christ, you have to be united – it is one family and we are all brothers.

“The people have to reconcile their hearts and that is important for the social, moral and spiritual reconstruction of the country as a whole.

“If the heart is healed, then peace may be possible. But, as with democracy, it is a continual process.”

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