Cardinal Fridlin Ambongo said in a hybrid webinar held to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the canonization of the Ugandan martyrs that the victims of Africa’s mineral resource exploitation are today’s modern-day martyrs.
Paul Samasmo – Vatican City
This year, the Church celebrates the 60th anniversary of the canonization of the Ugandan martyrs. They were canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964 in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
paradox of abundance and poverty
Cardinal Fridlin Ambongo, Archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo and President of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conference on Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), expressed harsh remorse for the exploitation of “blood minerals” in Africa. It causes death, displacement, human rights violations, war, and endemic poverty for millions of people.
Cardinal Ambongo spoke about his country’s experience, saying the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a clear example of exploitation. Despite its rich mineral resources, the poverty experienced by the Congolese people was staggering.
Citing a statement previously issued by the Bishop of Congo, the cardinal said: “Instead of contributing to the development of our country and benefiting our people, minerals, oil and forests are the cause of our misfortune. How can we understand that our fellow citizens are being deprived of land for free because of areas that have been given or sold to foresters?”
Congo mines
Lifting the veil on struggling communities
Cardinal President SECAM spoke at a conference held in Rome and online. He uncovers the many hardships ordinary villagers experience at the mercy of armed gangs, mercenaries, and faceless multinational mining companies intent on extracting minerals at all costs. I took it off.
The conference, themed “The Blood of the Holy Martyrs, Seeds of Hope for an Integral Ecology,” was organized by the African Missionary Society to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the canonization of the Holy Martyrs of Africa. Uganda.
“Many people suffer and die due to the exploitation of Africa’s mineral resources. The extraction and transportation of these minerals dispossesses and displaces families, often resulting in the violent destruction of homes and the quality of water. “Pollution, heavy metal air pollution and cyanide are released into the natural world, severely damaging agricultural, livestock and fisheries yields,” the cardinal said.
DRC conflict
Powers smartphones and electric car batteries
Cardinal goes on to explain how the blood minerals that power the batteries of smartphones and electric cars around the world leave behind a trail of death and destruction, creating an overall sense of chaos and a vicious cycle of perpetuating iniquity. He further talked about how to fall into.
“Africa has a very high death toll from the exploitation of blood minerals. In fact, the development of critical minerals (such as tin, tantalum, gold, tungsten) and energy transition minerals (such as lithium, nickel, cobalt) These minerals are found in the batteries of electric cars, smartphones, laptops, etc. In fact, they are trapped in a vicious cycle of financial logic, at the instigation of multinational corporations. Armed groups are fighting in several parts of Africa. War allows control of various mines. At the same time, the sale of minerals is used to finance further wars. All of this increases the risk of war because it supports the financing of armed groups, increases corruption in public administration, fuels separatist sentiments among people who feel abandoned, and makes indigenous peoples vulnerable. The mechanism is aimed at creating general confusion that hinders development, especially in the relevant areas,” the cardinal elaborated.
martyrs of uganda
Lessons learned from Uganda’s martyrs
Sixty years after the canonization of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions, Cardinal Ambongo also spoke about the lessons learned, or “what fruits are the testimonies of Uganda’s brave martyrs in Africa today?” He also talked about
In the face of atrocities, the Cardinal Archbishop of Kinshasa echoes Pope Francis’ document “Evangelical Gaudium” calling for a Christian community of missionary disciples (an outward-looking or outward-looking church) permanently engaged in missionary work. did. The Cardinal further said that the Church in Africa cannot remain silent in the face of the illegal exploitation of the continent’s mineral resources. He alluded to the “Hands Off Africa” speech that Pope Francis gave during his apostolic trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in January 2023.
The Congolese prelate praised Christians and non-Christians, men and women, the faithful and the anointed, for refusing to join hands in the face of the tragedies taking place in Africa’s troubled regions.
Many of these men and women “risked their lives to denounce these conditions in the name of Christian and human values, to advocate for social justice, peace, human dignity, and “Many have lost their lives and the earth continues to water the blood of modern martyrs,” he said.
Cardinal Ambongo reiterated that the Church in Africa going abroad will always act like the Good Samaritan, standing by the marginalized and those abandoned by the wayside. Regarding hope, he said that Christian hope is completely different from illusory hope.
