NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

    KIGALI, Rwanda (CWNews.com) - Bishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro on Thursday during his trial on genocide charges denied attending any meetings with government officials where the 1994 Rwandan genocide was planned.

    Bishop Misago was accused of actively collaborating with the government at the time to kill the ethnic Tutsi minorities. About 800,000 people were killed in the 100-day genocide. The bishop's trial began on September 14 and resumed on Thursday following a weeklong recess.

    Prosecutors alleged that Bishop Misago conspired with former Prime Minister Jean Kambanda and others to begin the assault. Kambanda has been sentenced by a UN court to life imprisonment after he confessed to genocide.

    Bishop Misago acknowledged he had met government officials but said he was searching for ways of assisting the many displaced people who had sought shelter in the parishes of his diocese. "I did not attend any meetings in which genocide plans were discussed," he said. "I was aware that there were killers in those meetings, but I continued to attend them because I judged them salutary for the people."

    The bishop added that his diocese distributed aid to about 50,000 people in a temporary camp who were later massacred by Hutu militias.

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