Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa, Congo, center, who is president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, address a news conference at Maripolis Retreat Center in Nairobi, Kenya, Jan. 25, 2024. (OSV News photo/Fredrick Nzwili) The Archbishop of Kinshasa, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, a consistent critic of the Congolese government and adviser to the Pope, has evoked the wrath of the Public Prosecutor General’s Office in the country as a consequence of several statements in sermons about the running of the country.
The cardinal, who does not hold back with his criticism of the Pope on occasion either, was informed that the Public Prosecutor General’s Office of the Democratic Republic of the Congo launched an investigation at the weekend because of several statements in sermons and the media about the country’s security and government, Radio France Internationale reported.
According to the report, Attorney General Firmin M’Vonde had already formally summoned the archbishop, who is close to Pope Francis, April 22, but the cardinal “declined the invitation”. According to RFI, the archdiocese of Kinshasa stated that the summons had not reached either the diocese or the cardinal. A new summons and possibly the opening of criminal proceedings are now likely to follow.