Catholicisme et viols de guerre en République démocratique du Congo : vers une théologie afroféministe des relations vitales

This thesis problematizes the paradoxical position of Congolese Catholicism in the face of war rapes in the socio-cultural context of the DR Congo torn by armed conflicts for more than two decades. DR Congo is the largest Catholic country on the African continent. The Congolese Catholic Church is one of the most populous in postcolonial Africa. Thanks to its power and influence, its demographics, its economic strength, and its organization which covers the entire national territory, Congolese Catholicism has a significant impact on the political, social, moral, and spiritual fields of the country. It can play a determining role and a crucial function in the face of war rapes. It can do so at critical times and at major political turning points to get the country out of its current crisis. Using a theological and interdisciplinary perspective, the thesis analyzes the paradox of Congolese Catholicism and its impact on war rapes. In order to do this, 56 survivors accounts, 20 official messages from the bishops, 3 biblical texts are analyzed using anthropophanic, liberation, and Bosadi approaches centered on survivors. Images of the pyramid, rhizome and spider's web come into play in analyses of Catholicism, as well as the notion of Ubuntu. The typology of war rapes, as well as the concept of vital relationships are also part of these investigations. This leads to create an Afro-feminist theology of vital relationships. Globally, the largest number of victims of war rapes are in DR Congo. The issue of the rape of women as a weapon of war constitutes, in the 21st century, a major global issue which preoccupies all social justice movements. It is becoming one of the most urgent concerns for the planet and, especially for DR Congo, which has been described as "the world capital of rape" where four out of five women are raped in the eastern part of the country, by men in uniform. The rapes persist and become more and more omnipresent. Statistics show the highest numbers ever recorded anywhere else in the context of armed conflict. Since 1996, the start of the so-called wars of liberation, the number of women and girls tortured before being raped and sometimes killed after the rape, has been estimated at one million in 2005 and some two millions in 2010 in the north and South Kivu provinces. These figures represent only 25% of cases of rapes declared because 75% of rapes remain unreported. Studies count more than 130 armed groups active in the eastern part of the country, while in 2015 there were 70 of them. In 2017, 120 armed groups were identified as clashing, killing, looting and raping. The United Nations Security Council (2020, no 27) reports that in 2019, the number of people raped increased by 34% compared to 2018. The motivations for war rapes in DR Congo are complex and include rapes for the purposes of land occupation, domination, control over territories and natural resources. Rapes are also linked to gender issues and political ideologies. The socio-cultural context of the DR Congo, a sexually conservative country, causes additional suffering to rape survivors. In some cases, human rights activists who advocate for women by exposing rapes and rapists are threatened. This poses a risk to the lives of survivors, as well as to others, forced to live in a context of permanent insecurity. What strategy should be mobilized to reverse this trend, which should not be considered inevitable? What strategies does Congolese Catholicism advocate for in the fight against war rape? How does it constitute a springboard or a brake?

Keyphrases: Congolese Catholicism, War rapes, Paradox, Armed conflicts, DR Congo, Sexual taboos, Survivor, Afrofeminism, Vital relationships, Rape culture