The Role of the Church in Promoting the Duty of Memory, Reconciliation, and Social Resilience in Post-genocide Rwanda
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbtref.71.1.10Keywords:
church, genocide, memory, reconciliation, resilienceAbstract
After 32 years, Rwanda still feels the wounds of the genocide committed against the Tutsi in 1994. The question concerns the role that religions and churches currently play in the processes of peacebuilding and reconciliation. Due to the complicity of church leaders and the involvement of a large number of church members in the genocide, faith was deeply wounded and altars were seen as shattered. Temples and places of worship traditionally seen as places of refuge became sites of massacres. Many Tutsi sought sanctuary in churches, only to be betrayed and killed by those who were supposed to protect them.
Nevertheless, following the genocide, the church institutions have been engaged in the peacebuilding processes and reconciliation, focusing on the duty of memory, which is theologically and biblically justified as a redemptive act and a cornerstone of reconciliation.
The transformation of the places of worship where Tutsi were massacred into memorial sites is one of the courageous actions taken by churches to preserve memory and promote public healing and reconciliation. The decision has been undertaken in collaboration with the government and the genocide survivors. The Church has also played a significant role in the justice process, particularly through its support for the Gacaca courts as a suitable form of restorative justice. Considering the current context, the Church is called upon to listen to diverse voices seeking recognition of their suffering and to manage potential conflicts of memory, which may disrupt the process of reconciliation and lasting peace.
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