Catholic Church adherents are poor – Bishop Smaragde Mbonyintege

Bishop Smargde Mbonyintege who is the spokesperson of the Rwandan Episcopal Council has told the media that the Catholic Church adherents are poor and can’t afford to pay tremendous fees to innovate the old parish buildings across Rwanda.

He revealed this as he responded to journalists who were eager to know why the Catholic church does not use its wealth to innovate its old parishes and make its wide land properties across the nation more productive.

The Catholic Church adherents are poor and the money we have comes from the voluntary offerings from them. We don’t take money from the banks, Bishop Mbonyintege told journalists.

He told journalists that old parishes were built according to the former architecture styles.

The ones we build in these days are in harmony with the current housing polices and urbanization plans, Bishop Mbonyintege said.

Minister of local government Musoni James told the media that  all the properties of the Catholic church in Rwanda should be managed as the rest of the national properties are managed as well.

He called upon the Catholic church to invest into its properties as to make them more productive as other Rwandans’ belongings are required to be managed.

In the past, Catholic church has been criticized for its inability to economically utilize its wide properties that include lands and forests.

UM– USEKE.RW