Pope Francis travels this Friday (3) from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), after a visit marked by calls for peace, to South Sudan, another African country very affected by violence.
In Kinshasa, the capital of the country with the largest number of Catholics in Africa, the Argentine pontiff condemned the conflict in eastern DRC, asked the rulers to fight against corruption and appealed to young people to get involved in the future of the nation.
Before the end of the visit to the country, Francisco will give a speech to the bishops.
Then he will make a “peace pilgrimage” in South Sudan, the youngest country in the world (it gained independence in 2011), with a Christian majority, which is among the poorest on the planet and suffers from the devastation caused by a civil war. .
In Juba, the 86-year-old pope will be accompanied by leaders of the Churches of England and Scotland, representatives of the other two Christian denominations of this country of 12 million inhabitants.
The three religious leaders were personally involved in the peace process – political leaders, however, ignored calls for reconciliation.
After decades of fighting with Sudan, and two years after its independence, the country began in 2013 a five-year civil war between the groups of Salva Kiir (current president of the country) and Riek Mashar (current first vice president).
Nearly 380,000 people died in the conflict, which left millions displaced and an economy in ruins.
Despite the 2018 peace deal, violence continues, spurred on by political elites.
The Church fills a void in areas without government services and where aid workers are often victims of violent attacks.
In 2019, Francis received the two enemies at the Vatican, knelt down and pleaded for peace.
The pontiff is due to arrive in the country at 3 pm (10 GMT) and will pay a courtesy visit to the president and vice presidents. He will also deliver a speech at the presidential palace.
On Saturday, he will meet with Catholic religious and internally displaced people for an ecumenical prayer. On Sunday he will celebrate a mass.
Hundreds of people traveled to Juba from other parts of the country.
Almost 60 young people walked 400 kilometers to the capital to spread a message of unity in a country with more than 60 ethnic groups.
Almost 5,000 police and soldiers were deployed for the visit and this Friday was declared a national holiday.
So far, the pope’s trip has been marked by Francis’ call for an end to “cruel atrocities” in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as corruption.
On Tuesday, the first day of the visit, he criticized “economic colonialism”, which prevents the DRC “from “taking advantage sufficiently of its immense natural resources”.
This is Francis’ 40th international trip since he was elected pope in 2013 and his third to sub-Saharan Africa.
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