Scottish Catholic Observer

In Rwanda it is clear the Faith is a key part of the landscape—there are churches on every other hill from which music can often be heard and many locals openly wear the Cross.

Bishop Jean Damascène Bimenyimana of Cyangugu Diocese on the border with the DR Congo told me that he has been bishop there for the past 17 years, and, while he has seen many changes in that time, still finds the key one is that the Faith of the people has strengthened there.

“Now if someone says they believe, they have Faith, it is not just words,” Bishop Bimenyimana told me. “The Church played large part in helping people here reconcile after the genocide and people responded. We have grown in this diocese, we have more parishes and sub parishes.”

The bishop also believes the Church in Rwanda has capitilised on this good standing by helping the people embrace it.

“Catholics here are involved in their Faith,” he said. “They take part in Church activities often. We help organise people into general community efforts. Were there are problems, of any kind, poverty or social we work with the people to help them find solutions. And we have embraced new structures to solve new problems.”

He added that young people receives a lot of attention.

“There is a strong pastoral focus on young people, on steering them towards vocations,” he said. “We explain to them from an early life what a vocation would mean, help them if they have a calling.”

Although his words are similar to those of bishops in Europe, it does seem that here these methods are working and the Rwandan Church has a bright future.

—SCO deputy editor Ian Dunn (above) is travelling this month in Africa with the Scottish International Aid Fund (SCIAF) ahead of the aid agency’s 50th anniversary next year.

—Visit http://www.sciaf.org.uk/