Congolese Catholic Church moves from state partner to 'spiritual opposition'

(The Christian Science Monitor) At first, they asked nicely.

At the end of 2016, as Congolese president Joseph Kabila’s second full term came to an end, leaders from the country’s powerful Roman Catholic Church nudged the president to sign an agreement with his political opposition. Kabila, they agreed, would call an election to choose his successor in 2017. In exchange, the opposition would let him stay in power until the election.

That never happened.