Podcast: Archbishop Marcel Utembi on DR Congo Elections

Archbishop Marcel Utembi

A Congolese Archbishop has led a delegation to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales to raise awareness ahead of the forthcoming November elections in the west-central African country.

Archbishop Marcel Utembi of Kisangani has called for the elections, only the second multi-party elections in half a century, to be fair and peaceful.

"The Bishops of Congo would like all candidates to keep the peace and when the result is known, they have to respect it without making war. Our wish is that the winner will be a good leader; the one who will respect the constitution, respect his duty to society, take office peacefully and give people the opportunity to work. Through this we can witness the development of our country."

Archbishop Utembi's visit comes three months after Bishop John Arnold, a Westminster Auxiliary Bishop and incoming Chair of CAFOD, the Church's aid and development agency, visited DR Congo, Rwanda and Kenya.

In this podcast, we learn more about the context of the elections and the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo: http://catholicchurch.org.uk/Catholic-Church/Media-Centre/Press-Releases/Press-Releases-2011/Podcast-Archbishop-Marcel-Utembi-on-DR-Congo-Elections