The eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is in many ways lawless. Armed groups and criminals frequently carry out kidnappings. Recently a religious sister was kidnapped in eastern DRC. Thankfully she has been release.

By ACN Staff

On 8 July, Sister Francine was kidnapped in Goma, Kivu province in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sister Francine is a member of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Resurrection. It was reported to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that Sister Francine had gone to the local market to shop for goods for her community. She did not return, instead she had been kidnapped by a gang. Kivu, like much of the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is plagued by Islamist groups, criminal gangs and rebel groups.

Sister Francine was physical unharmed during the ordeal but has been left traumatized by what she went through. The Head of Projects at ACN, Regina Lynch, expressed relief at the release of Sister Francine:

"We are very pleased that Sister Francine is back safe and sound with her community… Unfortunately, we are finding that kidnappings, especially of priests and religious, have become a weapon and a means of pressure in numerous African countries."

The number of kidnappings of priests and religious has increased recently in Africa. There have been a string of kidnappings in Mali and Nigeria in particular. Regina noted this trend with some concern:

"Many priests and religious, such as Gloria Cecilia Narvaez in Mali, often go missing for years. Other church members do not survive the abductions. The kidnappers achieve their goal: to increase fear and terror among the population. This is a very worrying development."

ACN supports numerous projects in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, providing funding for the building of rectories and churches as well as support for the formation of seminarians. The Daughters of the Resurrection, an order of African Sisters has been hard-hit by violence in the past decade; a number of convents were forced to close, and several sisters were killed. Today, the Daughters of the Resurrection are in Brazil, Cameroon, France and Italy for a mission of evangelization.