"With enthusiasm, with determination, many of us came out to democratically express our preferences," Ambongo told the congregation.
"But alas, what should have been a great celebration of democratic values quickly turned into frustration for many," he added.
DRC’s opposition and election observers said massive delays and bureaucratic chaos marred Wednesday's elections to choose the President, lawmakers for national and provincial assemblies, and local councilors.
Election officials struggled to transport voting materials to polling stations on time, some stations were unable to open at all and voting had to be extended into the following day.
The elections were "a gigantic organized disorder," the cardinal said. "You are all witnesses to it."
He also referred to video images showing a woman attacked for having voted for the opposition.
"How can we sink so low?," he said, asking what kind of message such images sent to the world.
Around 44 million people in the nation of 100 million were registered to vote, with more than 100,000 candidates running for various positions. President Felix Tshisekedi, 60, ran for re-election against 18 opposition candidates.
Many of them have denounced the way the election was run, some of them accusing the authorities of "massive" electoral fraud, AFP reported.
While one group of opposition leaders has called for a protest march in Kinshasa on Wednesday, others are pushing for the vote simply to be annulled.
The sheer scale of the DRC — roughly the size of continental Western Europe — and its dire infrastructure make elections a stark logistical challenge.
Officially, voting ended on Thursday, but one election official in remote parts of the conflict-torn east of the country that some stations were only opened on Saturday.
"For the moment, I urge you to exercise caution and restraint," Ambongo said.
On Saturday, the ambassadors of more than a dozen Western nations called for restraint in a joint statement.
The Congolese archbishop also addressed the Vatican's announcement that it will authorize blessings for same-sex couples.
"Make no mistake: the Church's two-thousand-year-old teaching on marriage has not changed. As a divine institution, marriage remains a union between a man and a woman," he said.
"These people have the right to be treated with respect, compassion and kindness," the cardinal said. "But homosexuality remains a moral disorder that is contrary to natural law and to our African culture."
His assertion has not being scientifically proven and many African historians have denied that homosexuality is alien to African culture.
Last week, head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis formally approved letting Catholic priests bless same-sex couples, the Vatican announced — a radical shift in policy that aimed at making the church more inclusive while maintaining its strict ban on gay marriage.
But while the Vatican statement was heralded by some as a step toward breaking down discrimination in the Catholic Church, some LGBTQ+ advocates warned it underscored the church’s idea that gay couples remain inferior to heterosexual partnerships.
The document marks the latest gesture of outreach from a pope who has made welcoming LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy.
From his 2013 quip, "Who am I to judge?" about a purportedly gay priest, to his 2023 comment to The Associated Press that "Being homosexual is not a crime," Francis has distinguished himself from all his predecessors with his message of welcome.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press.
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