Islamic State-backed group in DR Congo kills dozens at church

By CathNews New Zealand

August 1st, 2025

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, presides over a memorial Mass in St Peter's Basilica on April 2, 2025, marking the 20th anniversary of the death of St John Paul II. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

The Vatican’s Secretary of State has warned of the growing threat posed by an Islamist group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after dozens were killed at a Catholic church. Source: CNA.

Islamic State-backed rebels attacked a Catholic church in Komanda in the DRC on July 27, killing at least 34 people, AP reported.

Among those killed were members of the Eucharistic Crusade, a prayer movement and an apostolate for children and young people focused on devotion to the Eucharist and personal sanctification.

The attack and several others are believed to have been carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF), armed with guns and machetes.

Cardinal Parolin referred to the growing threat, saying the latest attacks were “a dangerous sign”.

For the Italian prelate, this group is a force “that in practice represents Islamic jihad and that imposes itself through force and violence”.

The attack has once again raised the alarm about the insecurity of Christians in the region: “This represents an additional problem in a region that already suffers from many conflicts of an ethnic, cultural, and sociopolitical nature. The addition of a religious aspect now further aggravates the situation,” Cardinal Parolin told the media.

In a telegram addressed to Archbishop Mugalu, President of the Congolese Bishops’ Conference on the Pope’s behalf, Cardinal Parolin said, “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV learned with dismay and deep sorrow of the attack perpetrated against the Parish of Blessed Anuarite in Komanda, which caused the death of several faithful gathered for worship.”

This tragedy, he continued, “calls us even more urgently to work for the integral human development of the martyred population of that region”.

In recent years, Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels.

The ADF, which has ties to Islamic State, operates in the borderland between Uganda and Congo, and often targets civilians. The group killed dozens of people in Ituri in July in what a United Nations spokesperson described as a bloodbath.

FULL STORY

Cardinal Parolin: Attack on church in Democratic Republic of Congo a ‘dangerous sign’ | Catholic News Agency (By Victoria Cardiel/CNA)

Pope: May blood of ‘martyrs’ in DRC church attack become seed of peace – Vatican News (Vatican News)

Islamic State-backed rebels attack a Catholic church in eastern Congo, killing at least 34 – KGET 17 News (AP)