Pope’s Africa trip spotlights conflict, and church’s future
POPE Francis began a six-day visit to Congo and South Sudan on Tuesday, aiming to bring a message of peace to two countries riven by poverty, conflict and what Francis has called a lingering “colonialist mentality” that still considers Africa ripe for exploitation.
Francis landed at Kinshasa s airport and was greeted by tens of thousands of Congolese who lined the main road into the city, some standing three or four deep, with children in school uniforms taking the front row.
“The Pope is years old but he came anyway. It is a sacrifice and the Congolese people will not forget it,” Sultan Ntambwe said as he waited for Francis arrival.
Aid groups are hoping Francis trip will shine a spotlight on two of the world s forgotten conflicts and rekindle international attention on some of Africa s worst humanitarian crises, amid donor fatigue and new aid priorities in Ukraine.
ut Francis trip will also bring him face-to-face with the future of the Catholic Church Africa is one of the only places in the world where the Catholic flock is growing, in terms of practicing faithful as well as fresh vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
That makes his trip, his fifth to the African continent in his 1 -year pontificate, all the more important as Francis seeks to make his mark on reshaping the church as a “field hospital for wounded souls”
where all are welcome and poor people have a special pride of place.
“es, Africa is in turmoil and is also suffering from the invasion of exploiters,” Francis told The Associated Press in an interview last week. ut he said the church can also learn from the continent and its people.
“We need to listen to their culture dialogue, learn, talk, promote,” Francis said, suggesting that his message would differ from the scolding tone St. ohn Paul II used in 19 and 19 5 when he reminded Congolese priests and bishops of the need to stick to their celibacy vows.
Congo, Francis first stop, stands out as the African country with most Catholics hands down Half of its 1 5 million people are Catholic, the country counts more than
, priests, 1 , nuns and more than , seminarians . of the global total of young men studying for the priesthood.
Congolese faithful were flocking to Kinshasa for Francis main event, a Mass on Wednesday at Ndolo airport that is expected to draw as many as million people in one of the biggest gatherings of its kind in Congo and one of Francis biggest Masses ever.
anners emblazoned with the pope s image carried messages including “Pope Francis, the city of Kinshasa welcomes you with joy.”
ean-Louis Mopina, , said he walked about 5 minutes to Kinshasa s airport before the pope s arrival on Tuesday.