Two Catholic priests kidnapped after violent attack by 10 assailants

Father Charles Kipasa and Jean-Pierre Akilimali were kidnapped Sunday night

Two Catholic priests were abducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo Sunday night.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Father Charles Kipasa and Jean-Pierre Akilimali were attacked and kidnapped by around ten assailants at Our Lady of the Angels parish in Bunyuka, near the border of Uganda, according to Reuters.

The country's bishops have cried out for the kidnap victims unharmed release. They beg of security to do all they can to free the priests.

They also acknowledged three other priests were abducted in October 2012 in the same area. They have still not been released.

The border area has become associated as a site of war, violence, and rebellions for the last two decades, as it suffers from ethnic tensions. Hundreds of people have been murdered by attackers using machetes and hatchets.

Less than a year ago, in December 2016, a nun near the same location was killed during what is said to have been a robbery.

"Priests are men of God who devote their lives to the good of the population without a political agenda. To hurt them is to harm the community they serve," said the National Episcopal Conference of Congo.

Terrorizing violence against the religious has become more and more common all over the world. We read about priests facing harm in DRC, and at the same time, priests are hit with the same kind of hatred in Mexico, the Middle East, and China.

Let us stand together, as brothers and sisters of God, and pray for peace in all the countries of the world.

Lord, we pray for the power to be gentle; the strength to be forgiving; the patience to be understanding, and the endurance to accept the consequences of holding to what we believe to be right.

May we put our trust in the power of good to overcome evil and the power of love to overcome hatred.

We pray for the vision to see and the faith to believe in a world emancipated from violence, a new world where fear shall no longer lead men to commit injustice, nor selfishness make them bring suffering to others.

Help us to devote our whole life and thought and energy to the task of making peace, always praying for the inspiration and the power to fulfill the destiny for which we and all men were created.

AMEN