Rwanda’s Catholic bishops have apologised for urging the release of some prisoners convicted for roles in the 1994 genocide, saying they realised by the reaction that they had caused much hurt.
The statement followed criticism of a pastoral letter that called for the release of old and ill convicts serving sentences for the mass killings.
“We wrote to Christians, encouraging them to continue promoting unity and reconciliation, while also seeking forgiveness,” the bishops said in a Swahili-language statement in mid-April.
“This letter caused a lot of hurt, especially for what we requested on behalf of the elderly and sickest who are still in prison for the crime of genocide. We are saddened it offended people – this was not what we intended.”
The bishops said they especially regretted their appeal had caused anguish “at a great moment of mourning” and pledged the Catholic Church would continue supporting genocide survivors and those safeguarding the memory of victims.
More than 800,000 people, mostly from Rwanda’s Tutsi minority, were massacred from April to July 1994 with the connivance of the national army, police and Hutu tribal militias.