In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the seventeenth Ebola outbreak has claimed more than two thousand lives, a Catholic bishop has stepped into the space where institutional trust has collapsed and offered something health authorities alone cannot: a moral vocabulary his community already believes in. Bishop Melchisedec Sikuli Paluku of the Diocese of Butembo-Beni addressed his congregation not as a public health messenger, but as a shepherd, framing the refusal to follow prevention measures as a contradiction of Christian conscience itself. His appeal reflects a recurring truth
DR Congo Bishop Urges Ebola-Hit Communities to Stay Home, Follow Health Guidance
The 17th Ebola outbreak has claimed 2,111 lives among 4,381 confirmed cases in DRC as of August 11, 2026.