As events to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Genocide kicked off, Vatican Radio aired an unusual programme; a homily the late Pope John Paul II made condemning the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda.

The heavy involvement in the Genocide by of some members of the Catholic clergy, would in normal circumstances have led to the Vatican coming out with an official act of contrition, but that was not to be.

The official line of the church was that those who took part in the killings did so as individuals and therefore only they bore the burden.

The current Pope Francis caused ripples of change at the Holy See the minute he stepped into the white robes, signaling that the Church could be in the midst of heavy ideological shakeup.

Will Rwanda be on the agenda? Will the Vatican for once swallow its pride and do what is right– take responsibility for not protecting its flock?

The floors in many churches in the country were drenched with the blood of the faithful, thousands died in the hands of men of the frock. Fathers Athanase Seromba, Wenceslas Munyeshyaka and the Catholic nuns of Sovu being the torch bearers.

As we remember our dead and console the survivors, Pope Francis should hear their cries. They have waited for two decades for a sign from Rome; they should not be made to wait any longer.

A single gesture can heal millions of traumatized souls.