Antoine Roger Lokongo, Author at Catholic Herald

Antoine Roger Lokongo

August 26, 2020

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country which was already struggling to contain the Ebola outbreak, measles and cholera, and whose health system remains weak, the coronavirus crisis has brought a new challenge. Faced with a pandemic which continues to devastate lives and livelihoods, the Church has adopted all government recommendations and repeatedly

Many African Catholics have more than one wife. What should the Church do?

March 19, 2020

One of my uncles was a devout Catholic who was active in his parish even as a member of the parish council. Whenever European missionaries came to our village for Mass, they stayed at his house. Nevertheless, he had two wives with whom he had many children. Polygamy is deeply rooted in African culture. It

DRC’s president tries to win the Church over

February 13, 2020

When the Independent National Election Commission declared Félix Tshisekedi the winner of the presidential election in January 2019, the Catholic Church was swift to contest the outFélix Tshisekedicome. The then Archbishop Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa declared that he believed the true winner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo election was Tshisekedi’s rival, Martin

Traffic jams, Christmas trees and banana beer: December in Kinshasa

December 19, 2019

Christmas is in the air in Kinshasa. Giant illuminated Christmas trees stand in front of hotels and big supermarkets owned by Indian, Lebanese and Chinese hommes d’affaires (businessmen). Perhaps the tallest Christmas tree in the Democratic Republic of Congo is in the Place de l’Indépendance – Kinshasa’s equivalent of Trafalgar Square – by Rawbank, the

Priests and nuns are a common sight in the DRC’s civil service

October 24, 2019

The Code of Canon Law states that “Clerics are forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power.” But does this mean that clergy are prohibited from working in the civil service? Not, it seems, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it is not unusual to find

Why African bishops are warning about misuse of holy oils

May 09, 2019

Bishops across Africa are warning priests not to misuse holy oils. They are concerned that practices associated with the revival churches are being imported into Catholicism. In a 2014 article in the missionary journal Spiritus, Fr Damien Etshindo, of Kole Diocese in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, explained that revival churches are known for

A liberating joy: Easter in Kinshasa

April 25, 2019

Every Holy Week begins with the celebration of Palm Sunday. For us in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), there is no shortage of palm leaves. In fact, here in our parish of St Perpetua, a stone’s throw from the banks of the River Congo, tall palm leaves were planted along the procession route and

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