[4] The church owns and manages an extensive network of hospitals, schools, and clinics, as well as many diocesan economic enterprises, including farms, ranches, stores, and artisans' shops.

[4] The Belgian colonial state authorized and subsidized the predominantly Belgian Catholic missions to establish schools and hospitals throughout the colony; the church's function from the perspective of the state was to accomplish Belgium's "civilizing mission" by creating a healthy, literate, and disciplined work force, one that was obedient to the governing authorities.

[4] The conflict intensified in 1972 when, as part of the authenticity campaign, all Zairians were ordered to drop their Christian baptismal names and adopt African ones.

[4] The regime retaliated by forcing the cardinal into exile for three months and by seizing his residence and converting it into JMPR headquarters.

[4] The tables turned in late 1975 as the effects of Zairianization and the fall in copper prices resulted in a progressively worsening economy.

[4] In addition, the state's lack of managerial skills and resources had rendered its takeover of the education system a disaster.

[4] The bishops' episcopal letter of June 1981, for example, castigated the regime for corruption, brutality, mismanagement, and lack of respect for human dignity.

[4] An angry Mobutu retaliated by warning the Catholic hierarchy to stay out of politics; he also stationed JMPR militants in all places of worship to monitor priestly homilies.

[4] The cardinal advised Zairians before the 1984 presidential elections to consult their consciences before casting their ballots; his act was denounced by the government as religious zealotry.

[4] Many bishops wished to protect the church's institutional position and to avoid the retaliation that a more militant attack on the state could well provoke.

[4] The dependence of the largely Africanized church leadership on substantial numbers of expatriate priests, nuns, and brothers at lower and middle staff levels was another weakness.

[4] Finally, while church officials generally sided with the populace against the government in labor disputes, tax revolts, and individual cases of injustice, they sometimes made common cause with the regime; in its management role in Catholic schools, for example, the Church found itself siding with the government against teachers striking for higher wages in the early 1980s.