—Theophas Ruterahagusha, a Tutsi and president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church‘s North Rwanda Association, was shot dead on August 8 near Ruhengeri. Ruterahagusha had stopped at a roadblock operated by bandits. Luka Daniel, president of the African-Indian Adventist Division, says, “Until Rwandese can come together to kill the real enemy, namely, the spirit of revenge, lives of both the guilty and the innocent will continue to be lost, often in the most gruesome way.” A report by the un High Commissioner said 873 people had been killed in May and June in Rwanda.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Kolini, consecrated August 3 as the new Anglican bishop of Kigali diocese, says the church must exhibit repentance and forgiveness for silence during the 1994 genocide if it is to play a role in Rwanda’s recovery from the slaughter of more than 500,000 Tutsis at the hands of extremists Hutus. “The church has to feel ashamed for what happened in this country,” he said.
—The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) voted at an August meeting in Hungary to readmit the predominantly white 1.3 million-member Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) if the South African denomination passes a resolution renouncing its previous support of apartheid. Frederik Swanepoel, DRC moderator, says, “I trust that the DRC will indeed react in 1998 with the desired response.” WARC has members in 104 countries.
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