Thousands of people filled the streets of Kinshasa this Tuesday to see Pope Francis pass by in the Popemobile, beginning a six-day trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the country with the most Catholics in Africa, and to South Sudan. The 86-year-old leader of the Catholic Church carries a message of peace for the two countries stricken by the violence of war after denouncing the “economic colonialism” of its resources in his first speech to Congolese authorities posed .
“Political exploitation has given way to economic colonialism, which is also slavery,” the pope said at the reception in the gardens of the Palace of the Nation. “That is why this massively plundered country has not sufficiently benefited from its vast resources,” he added in a speech recalling that every Congolese is more precious than a diamond or anything else that could leave the soil of the country.
“Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hands off Africa. It’s not a mine to exploit,” he said, to the applause of those present. The pope also recalled that the world cannot get used to the “carnage” that has plagued the country for decades and defended “free, transparent and credible” elections – presidential elections are scheduled for December 20.
Francis is the first pope since John Paul II in 1985 to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo (then known as Zaire). a country where 40% of the more than one hundred million inhabitants are Catholic – it is the country with the most Catholics on the African continent. It is Francis’ 40th international apostolic tour, his fifth to Africa, and was initially scheduled for July last year, but the pope’s health concerns forced the plans to be postponed.
Violence and war, which Francis lamented during Sunday’s Angelus, also forced plans to change, as they were needed to bypass the passage through Goma, in the east of the country. “I would also like to go to Goma, but we can’t go there because of the war”, the pope told journalists who accompanied him on the flight from Rome. The route only includes Kinshasa, where a mass for two million people is now expected to be held, and Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
Still, Francis will hear the testimonies of survivors of violence in the east of the country, where there are more than 100 active armed groups, including the March 23 Movement (M23) and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The rebels have seized land and are accused by the United Nations of atrocities against civilians. The Islamic State also runs through this region – claimed an attack on a church, leaving 14 dead.
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Source: DN
