Pope’s visit ‘shows respect for Africa’
CARDINAL Wilfrid Napier, the Catholic Archbishop of Durban, says Pope Francis’s planned visit to Africa in July underlines his respect for not only the church but the people of the continent.
Pope Francis will visit Africa for the fifth time since he became the pontiff in 2013. Over the years he has visited Kenya, Uganda, the Central African Republic, Egypt, Morocco, Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius.
The 85-year-old is expected to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan amid apparent concerns of conflict expressed by the church and state leadership there.
Last week, the Vatican described the visit as an apostolic journey. It said the visit was at the invitation of the countries’ respective heads of state and bishops.
Pope Francis is expected to visit Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital, and Goma, the main town in the restive eastern province of North Kivu, from July 2 to 5. He will visit Juba, South Sudan’s capital, from July 5 to 7.
The DRC is the second-largest country in Africa with a population of 92million. The country is 95% Christian, with 48% being Protestant and the remaining 47% Catholic. At least 1.5% of the population is Muslim.
According to media reports, in 2018, about 600 000 Congolese fled the country to evade conflicts in the centre and east of the DRC.
During a recent press conference in Kinshasa, Archbishop Marcel Utembi Tapa, the head of the national bishops conference in the DRC, said Pope Francis’s visit would revive the hope of
the Congolese people who need peace, security and well-being.
Meanwhile, South Sudan, a primarily Christian country, gained its independence from Sudan in 2011 but civil war broke out two years later, leaving 400000 people dead.
Though a peace deal was signed in 2018, there have been ongoing reports of conflict between rebel groups.
This week, the UN reported that about 440 civilians were killed in conflicts between rival armed militias in south-western South Sudan during June and September last year.
Cardinal Napier said that when an announcement was made for a visit, it normally meant that the pope was travelling to address concerns in that country.
“It is normally a sign that he has a particular concern of a particular situation in that country and the leadership is being met with resistance. When something is not going right, he goes there to put it right. He goes there to help the people and no one else.
“In South Sudan, it is probably to stop the ongoing violence. You will remember in 2019 how he knelt and kissed the feet of South Sudan’s opposing leaders at the Vatican, urging them not to return to conflict.”
He said the visit was welcomed and that it would lead to a positive outcome for everyone involved.
Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, the spokesperson for the SA Council of Churches, said he believed the visit was part of Pope Francis’s responsibilities. He said he had no doubt that he would address the concerns of the countries while he was there.
“If the pope is visiting the eastern part of the DRC, then it is of major significance as conflict is at its thickest there. In South Sudan, the Catholic church is very strong so the pope’s visit to the country could be to influence a positive mindset.”
Mpumlwana said Pope Francis had been active in trying to bring peace to the Russia/Ukraine crisis, and had always displayed a responsive approach to the challenges and injustices of the world.
“In a space of a short time, since he became pope, he has also given a lot of attention to our continent and that is something to be celebrated.
“He is a disciple of St Francis and his ministry is a display of St Francis’s peace prayer: ‘Lord, make me an instrument of peace where there is hatred…’.”