Church takes aim at Kinshasa over diplomatic incident

The Catholic Church in the DRC is at loggerheads with the government over what it has called the ‘degrading’ treatment of its leading cleric when he was denied access to the VIP lounge at the N'djili International Airport in Kinshasa last Sunday. Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the chancery of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kinshasa, was on his way to Rome to meet Pope Francis. News24 reports that he is one of the nine members of the Council of Cardinals, which advises the Pope. In a letter to the government, the Catholic Church in Kinshasa said the treatment of its leader was not in line with the chancery's public standing and profile. ‘As Cardinal of the Holy Church, he holds a diplomatic passport. Why refuse this status, which has always been recognised by all cardinals, even internationally?’ the church asked. The church suspects that the incident was government's response to Besungu's Easter message, in which he expressed concern about the security situation in the DRC.