Thousands of Places of Worship Closed Down in Rwanda

The pretext is that they do not meet the hygiene and safety requirements for the exercise of their activities.

According to the President of the Republic Paul Kagame, his country does not need that many places of worship: “I don't think we have as many boreholes. Do we even have as many factories? This has been a mess!" declared the Rwandan Head of State last April.

There are various reasons behind the Rwandan reluctance with regards to the Christian cult – to which 90% of the country’s population belongs. The most important is the multiplication of uncontrolled Protestant sects that refuse any notion of hierarchy and are behind this proliferation that is certainly not devoid of mercantile interests.

In order to counter this proliferation, Judith Uwizeye, a minister of President Paul Kagame’s office, has presented Parliament with a bill that would require ministers of cults to have a high school degree and a certificate in religious studies. She would also like to forbid members of the clergy convicted of genocide, discrimination or other sectarian practices from preaching in public. These measures particularly target the “Lutheran Church of Rwanda” and Patmos, a Pentecostal congregation.

But when it comes down to it, the Catholic Church, with her hierarchical and unified structure, is left to pick up the broken pieces of a chaotic religious situation that is mostly the fault of Protestantism.

Christ founded only one Church. As St. Paul explained to the Ephesians, there is one body, one mind, one Lord, one Faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all (see Eph. 4). Only to Peter and his successors did the Son of God say, “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build My Church.” (Mt. 16:18)