The decision to initiate a judicial investigation against Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for “seditious remarks” has not gone unnoticed at the Vatican. The Archbishop of Kinshasa is one of Pope Francis’ key advisers and had hosted the pontiff during his apostolic journey last year.
The standoff involving Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo and the Congolese judiciary is closely monitored at the Vatican. The Archbishop of Kinshasa is indeed one of Pope Francis’ key figures on the African continent. Since 2020, he has been part of the “C9,” a council of cardinals from five continents who are the closest advisers to the pontiff.
Incidents
In early April, a Congolese envoy was received at the Vatican, but no details of the discussions emerged. The tensions between the cardinal and the authorities in Kinshasa are taken very seriously in Rome, especially considering that the framework agreement establishing relations between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Holy See, signed at the Vatican in 2016, only fully came into force two years ago, following a visit to Kinshasa by Cardinal Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Holy See.
At that time, he welcomed “a more fruitful collaboration between the Congolese Church and civil authorities.” However, this collaboration faces challenges with the Ambongo case, although there is currently no talk in Rome of questioning this agreement.
Not Unprecedented
Tensions between the Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa and the government are not new. In the seventies, Cardinal Joseph-Albert Malula strongly criticized General Mobutu’s autocratic tendencies, while in 2011, Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo did not hesitate to describe Joseph Kabila’s presidential election victory as “neither true nor just.”