His trip is a first response to the invitation of the Vatican's Cardinal Secretary of State, Card. Pietro Parolin, who earlier last July made a pastoral visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo on behalf of Pope Francis, who was blocked in the Vatican by an knee ailment: "Peace, brotherhood, joy" were the key words of his homily addressed to the 100,000 participants in the Eucharistic celebration in Kinshasa.
The African country's stability is compromised by numerous ills in society, the economy, and the environment. The Salesians are one of the strong points to get out of the current situation in which "the lust for raw materials, the thirst for money and power close the doors of peace and represent an attack on people's right to life and serenity," as denounced by the Vatican Secretary of State.
"The advanced posts of the Sons of Don Bosco missions operate in territories where there is child exploitation in mines, ancestral prejudice against those born with physical abnormalities, and violence against young women," Missioni Don Bosco explained. They live on the borders of areas subject to the action of anti-government gun groups: a few days before his killing on Feb. 22, 2021, Italian Ambassador Luca Attanasio had gone to greet Salesians and cooperators in Goma, in the troubled Kivu region.
Against the backdrop of today's Congo region falls the dark shadow of the morally remorseless search for new deposits of coltan, the essential raw material for electronics, and the enormous riches of the subsoil.
The Salesians have been dedicated to the integral development of the youth of this region for many years; they have been present in Congo-Kinshasa for 110 years, and in Congo-Brazzaville for 60: in both countries, they are rooted with schools, youth centers, parishes, Vocational Training centers, agricultural development projects, shelters for street children, single mothers and vulnerable youth...
Fr. Antúnez's trip goes to confirm the Salesian commitment to grow and expand the works that have been started and to face new challenges. More specifically, the program includes stops at two missions of emblematic value to the Sons of Don Bosco: Mbuji May, where Salesians work to safeguard children accused of witchcraft, and are persecuted in their villages for this; and Tshikapa, aimed at assessing the possibilities of building an elementary school in an area infamous for the exploitation of diamond mines - an activity that also involves child labor - and where the illiteracy rate reaches 47 percent.
For more information, visit: www.missionidonbosco.org
