Congo Democratic Republic Goma, January 24 (IPS) -The Vatican began the commitment procedure of King Belgian King Boduang I in 2024, but the opinion of whether this decision is needed in the Congo Republic of Belgium is still needed. Division I have been colonized for 80 years. The Catholic Church of this country does not officially express its opinion on this issue, so it remains without answering many questions. Pope Francis was filled with praise for King Boduin, who ruled Belgium for more than 40 years during his visit to the Belgian kingdom in September 2024.
The Pope announced on June 30, 1960, the Belgian side of the book process for those who ratified the Congo’s Independence Act.
This is a colony of Belgium and has caused a big controversy in the Congo Democratic Republic, which was the private property of King Leopold II for 23 years.
The 30 -year -old Maranata Julien, who lives in eastern Congo Democratic Republic, does not agree with the Pope’s decision.
She thinks this action is hasty and ridiculous. She lost her great -grandchildren in the colonial era, and she said that she was the worst “mistake” that the Catholic Church could commit the Congo.
“I don’t know what the decision was made to start the King Baudouin process. I don’t have any good testimony about this Belgian monarch. He was the source of colonization and specific mistakes. I think it doesn’t make sense to sanctify him. ”She urged the Vatican to stop the process.
According to the data, almost half of the Congo population is Catholic, and Congo is one of the most Catholic countries in the world, including Africa.
Many researchers say that the existence of the Catholic Church is felt in politics and state development problems.
During his visit to Belgium, Pope François mentioned King Boduin as a “very religious” sovereign sovereignty, emphasizing his courage to leave the throne instead of signing the law that he thought he was “immoral.”
The king did not agree with the government bill that legalized abortion and resigned from his seat in 1990. He was reinstated by the National Assembly the day after the bill was passed.
The Pope’s dedication was dismissed by Jacques Sinzahera, a democratic and human rights activist based on GOMA. He opposed this decision, claiming that Bodouin’s life was not in “sacred mode”.
Rather, he describes him as a “bloodline” of the Congo people who ignore those who have lost their loved ones in the colonial era.
“Watering King Boduin is like spitting in the memories of our ancestors who are slaughtered, tortured and slaves by this monarch. Belgium under Boduin Chi has killed people for economic benefits, and the traces still remain. ” The believer Hera asked the Congo Democratic Catholic congregation to beg for Rome to reconsider the approach to Rome.
This view is not shared with Alice Keza, a 30 -year -old citizen of GOMA. She thinks it is a good decision to be the Belgian king.
“My parents were like slaves in colonial days. In 1960, the Congo Democratic Republic was the one who did everything to gain independence. I know that the Vatican can’t wake up and make that decision. ”
King Boduin visited the Congo Democratic Republic in 1955, when the colonial era was in full swing, and was welcomed by the crowd in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa), the capital of the Congo Democratic Republic.
In the view of Tumsifu Akram, a researcher at the Congo Democratic Republic, King Boduin is one of the most famous monarchs in the 20th century.
“He was a very popular monarch not only in Belgium but also throughout Europe. In Africa, when he first visited, some Congo were nicknamed the Bana Chitoko (gentleman), ”he told IPS.
Akramm Tumsifu argues that there is a “black mark” that threatens the poetry of King Boduin.
“It was his rule (Belgium) that Patrice Lumumba, his colleagues, and many other Congo nationalists were killed in Congo, and we could not say that he was innocent in every way. He was a good friend of Moise Tshombe, who operated the separatist Katanga by Patrice Lumumba, and it was a gloomy thing for him. ”
Rumumba, the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as the Republic of Congo, was not served for only a few months in 1960 when the rebellion occurred in the army. Joseph de Mobutu (Mobutu Seceko) served as the president of the Army and expelled the left -wing nationalist government in 1960, with the support of Belgium and the United States in 1960. He was then arrested while he went to Stanleyville. Based on the help of the Belgian parties and the knowledge of the United States, it was tortured and executed by TSHOMBE’s separatist Katangan authorities.
In 2021, the 60th anniversary of Congo’s independence, King Belgium, the current king, expressed his deep regret for the cruel colonial past of Congo.
Officially, the Congo Democratic Catholic Church has not yet commented on the case. On October 22, 2024, the Cardinal of the Congo Catholic Church, Cardinal Ambong -go, asked what he thinks about Pope Francis’s will. “The case is the most important.” It is a Belgian church that is tracking the case. ”
“The Belgian church is following this incident. King Boduin was the king of Congo independence. It was the man who gave independence to Congo. We know that something happened due to the death of Prime Minister Rumumba. For us he was a very brave politician in Belgium. We do not know the twists and turns of his life. ”
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