African Church-State rift healed

FROM A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
THE first meeting between President Mobutu of Zaire (formerly Belgian Congo) and Cardinal Malula of Kinshasa since the latter's self-imposed exile in Rome seems to confirm their reconciliation, according to political circles in Kinshasa. President Mobutu received the Cardinal at his residence at Mount Ngaliema two weeks after his return from five months in Rome, where he "waited for the dust to settle" in the conflict between the Catholic Church and the government.
Cardinal Malula's return at the end of last month received little publicity, in contrast to that arousod by the clash between President and
Cardinal early this year. Nothing was revealed about the Mount Ngaliema meeting, but political sources said it could be considered an official reconciliation.
The conflict came into the open in January when the two men clashed over President
Mobutu's Africanisation policy. The President's Popular Revolutionary Movement Party decided to Africanise christian names. President Mobutu set the example by changing his christian names Joseph Desire to Sese Seko.
The party also said Zairean babies should be given African names when baptised, and it ordered sections of the
party's youth movement to be set up in Catholic high schools and seminaries. Faced with the bishop's opposition, government and party leaders soon took measures. Cardinal Malula was ordered to leave his official residence, the Pope John seminary he had founded was ordered to be closed and the Catholic weekly Afrique Chretietzne was suspended. Pope Paul summoned Cardinal Malula to Rome for consultations. Both President Mobutu and Radio Zaire accused Cardinal Malula of treason towards the African policies and threatened legal proceedings against him. Zairian Bishops decided to close their seminaries rather than allow the setting up of party youth sections. Several French and Belgian Catholic missionaries were expelled from the country.
A first step towards reconciliation was made in April when the bishops reviewed their stand and decided to allow party youth sections to operate in the seminaries.
In May, on the eve of the first general party congress, President Mobutu announced he had "pardoned" Cardinal Malula and allowed him to return to Zaire after the Cardinal wrote him a letter. The contents of it were not revealed as it was private and confidential.