Respected Catholic Priest and Archbishop of Kinshasa Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo on Thursday paid a courtesy call on Republican President Felix Tshisekedi at the Presidential Palace where they discussed pertinent matters affecting the DR Congo as well as the recent stained relationship between the church and government.
Cardinal Ambongo’s was last month, at the order of Tshisekedi, issued with a threat of judicial proceedings to be taken against him by the General Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation Firmin Mvonde due to his constant criticism of the government’s handling of the insecurities in the east where fighting between the Congolese army (FARDC) and the M23 Rebels has escalated to extreme measures.
However, the relationship between the prelate and the head of state seems to have improved as the two leaders met on Thursday with the Nunciature’s chargé d’affaires, Monsignor Andriy Yevchuk also present at the meeting.
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo is said to have requested for audience before Tshisekedi who obliged, although his regime’s supporters continue to demand for the prelate to appear before the General Prosecutor’s Office at the Matete Court of Cassation in Kinshasa.
Speaking after meeting, which came as a surprise to the Congolese population, Cardinal Ambongo, in seemingly conciliatory tone implied that government and the church are “condemned” to work together in the the interest of the population while Tshisekedi described the meeting as “a moment of clarification”, also adding that “where men talk to each other, things are clear”.
During Tshisekedi’s first five-year term as president, relations between the government and the Catholics have been inconsistently tense and calm.
