Since early 2025, leaders of the two churches have conducted consultations across various regions of the DRC, several African countries, and Qatar, engaging with different stakeholders on ways to achieve lasting peace in the country.
These efforts were part of preparations for a new peace dialogue that the churches intended to facilitate, bringing together Congolese from different backgrounds in Kinshasa, including opponents of the government such as the AFC/M23 coalition.
Senior church leaders have repeatedly stressed that resolving the DRC's long-standing crises requires inclusive peace talks that exclude no Congolese group. However, they say the Tshisekedi administration has ignored this approach.
From December 2025, President Tshisekedi made three trips to Angola, where he asked President João Lourenço to help organize new peace talks involving Congolese stakeholders, including representatives of AFC/M23.
Tshisekedi reportedly expressed a preference for the Catholic and Anglican Churches to participate as stakeholders rather than serve as facilitators, a position seen as undermining the churches' year-long preparations.
Government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya has maintained that any Congolese dialogue must be held in Kinshasa. He also argued that the churches' initiative lacks credibility because they have not publicly condemned the actions of AFC/M23 in eastern DRC.
On January 14, 2026, President Lourenço met with senior Catholic and Anglican leaders from the DRC. According to his office, discussions focused on the deteriorating security situation in eastern Congo.
Sources familiar with the meeting said the church leaders told Lourenço they would not participate in the Kinshasa-led talks unless the Catholic and Anglican Churches were given a leading role.
The conflicting positions between President Tshisekedi's government and the two churches highlight the difficulty of convening an inclusive national dialogue. Analysts warn that even if the talks go ahead, their impact may be limited if key actors remain excluded from the process.
IGIHE
