A sister of the late Archbishop Michael Courtney says she does not wish to put pressure on the Burundian authorities regarding the investigation into her brother's assassination in case it would exacerbate strife in the already war-torn country.
Nobody has yet been charged with the murder of the Nenagh-born Papal Nuncio to Burundi, who was killed there after the car in which he was travelling was showered with bullets exactly a year ago yesterday.
After her brother's first anniversary Mass in St Mary of the Rosary church in Nenagh, Ms Kathleen Vandenberghe said: "Burundi is in turmoil and the people there hope to have peace. We would not want to push the investigation because we do not want to exacerbate the problems in the country."
She did not wish to see a situation where demands from her family might pressurise the Burundian government into making any wrong decisions in relation to suspects. "There's no point in getting someone who's maybe only obeying orders," she added. "The person who pulled the trigger is the marksman, but not the man that made the decision [ to assassinate her brother]."
The chief celebrant of the Mass, Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, said people remembered Archbishop Courtney with affection, but it was his family who had carried the burden of sadness over the last 12 months. In paying the ultimate sacrifice, he had highlighted the extraordinary contribution of Irish missionaries all over the world.
Dr Walsh said efforts made by the archbishop to bring peace to Burundi had been fruitful. One of the great Christian messages was never to lose hope for peace even if the world was in turmoil.