Archbishop
Pope Francis first named him apostolic administrator for Mbandaka-Bikoro on 5 March 2016 [6] and then Archbishop of that see on 12 November, while retaining responsibility for Bokungu-Ikela as Apostolic Administrator. [7] He was installed in his new see on 11 December 2016. [8]
In 2016–18 he decried the repeated attempts of Congo President Joseph Kabila to push back the election in the Congo believing that it sets an alarming precedent and demonstrates the President's unwillingness to relinquish power. [1] He defended those Catholics who organized pro-democratic demonstrations that drew violent responses from police forces. After these violent clashes he signed a statement on behalf of the bishops stating that the prelates "deplored the attack on human life" while offering their condolences to the families of "innocent victims" killed in the clashes. [1] The statement further called for a "serious and objective investigation" to determine those responsible for the extreme violence. Ambongo opposes Kabila's candidacy for another term as president. Ambongo later led a mission of bishops to Lusaka, Zambia, to meet with Zambian President Edgar Lungu to urge him to support holding peaceful elections in the D.R.C. in December 2018. In their message to Lungu, the bishops urged support for a "credible, transparent, inclusive and peaceful election" to solve "the socio-political crisis" plaguing the nation. Ambongo also celebrated a Mass in Zambia on 9 September 2018 urging Zambians never to lose peace in their nation. [2]
On 30 May 2018, Ambongo issued a statement in Mbdanka-Bikoro announcing that there would be a suspension of those sacraments that require physical contact to administer due to an outbreak of Ebola in the area. He said that "this is to prevent the spread of Ebola hemorrhagic fever". He also advised giving the sign of peace verbally rather than physically. [9]
Ambongo condemns the exploitation of natural resources and believes that renewables will help alleviate the impact of climate change in the world. In a 4 March 2015 interview in Rome, Ambongu said that "the future is this renewable energy, namely solar panels" in order to reduce climate change, highlighting solar panels as an effort to shift gradually to renewables. [10] He continued that "we, as the Church, are not opposed to the exploration of natural resources", though asserted that such exploration needed to be both legal and transparent. Ambongo also collaborated with Cardinal Christoph Schönborn to secure a meeting between the German and Congo environmental ministers to discuss what the countries could do to improve the quality of the environment in their respective nations. [10]
In March 2015 he reported that he has received death threats: "I am a person in danger in Congo." With a nervous laugh he told a French radio outlet: "I am in danger. This is true." [10]
In June 2016 he was elected Vice-President of the Episcopal Conference of the Congo (CENCO). [11]
On 6 February 2018, Pope Francis appointed Ambongo the coadjutor for the Kinshasa archdiocese, [11] to succeed Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya upon his resignation. He was presented to the archdiocese as coadjutor on 11 March 2018. He became Archbishop when Francis accepted Pasinya's resignation on 1 November 2018. [12] He was installed there on 25 November 2018. [13]
On 5 October 2019, Pope Francis made him Cardinal-Priest of San Gabriele Arcangelo all'Acqua Traversa. [14] He was made a member of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life on 21 February 2020. [15] On 15 October 2020, Pope Francis appointed him to the Council of Cardinal Advisers. [16]
In February 2023, Ambongo was elected president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). [17]
In this role he wrote a statement insisting the bishops of Africa enjoy communion with Pope Francis, Cardinal Ambongo Besungu said African Bishops nevertheless “believe that the extra-liturgical blessings proposed in the declaration Fiducia Supplicans cannot be carried out in Africa without exposing themselves to scandals.” [18]
Following his opposition to Fiducia Supplicans, he wrote a document with Cardinal Fernández that refuses any blessing of homosexual couples, arguing that such blessings "cannot be carried out in Africa without exposing themselves to scandals." It was submitted to Pope Francis and also signed by Cardinal Fernández. [19]
In a 2024 audio recording, Cardinal Ambongo can be heard saying Westerners have "decadent morals." [20]
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