Pope Francis yesterday called to “break the spiral of violence” and “dismantle the web of hatred” at a mass for more than a million people at Kinshasa’s airport – the second largest of his pontificate, surpassed only by one he celebrated in the Philippines. in 2015. On the second day of the apostolic journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the leader of the Catholic Church began in Lingala, one of the four official languages of the country, to ask for peace and brotherhood: “Bondeko, bobotoLater he heard about the victims of violence in the east of the country, whom he was unable to visit precisely because of the war.
“Brothers, sisters, we are called to be missionaries of peace, and this will fill us with peace. It is a choice: it is to give everyone space in the heart is to believe that ethnic, regional, social, religious and cultural differences are secondary and not a hindrance; that others are brothers and sisters, members of the same human community; that everyone is the recipient of the peace that Jesus brought into the world,” Francis said in the homily, where he spoke of the “wounds” of the people and the land, which are “burning, constantly tainted by hatred and violence.”
The Pope, speaking in Italian (the words were translated into French), called to lay down arms and embrace mercy, enumerating the three sources that serve to nurture peace: forgiveness, community, and mission. “Peace be upon you: let these words of our Lord echo in silence in our hearts. Let us listen to those who address us and choose to be witnesses of forgiveness, protagonists of the community, people on a mission of peace in the world,” he said.
According to organizers, more than a million worshipers went to Kinshasa’s airport to attend mass, which had been declared a public holiday in the country. It is estimated that about 40% of the 100 million inhabitants of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a former Belgian colony, are Catholic – it is the country with the most Catholics in Africa. Many of those attending the early morning mass had begun to arrive the night before. “Since our country has many problems, it is reconciliation that we are looking for and the Pope will send a message to the countries around us to leave us alone,” one of those present told AFP before dawn.
In the afternoon, the pope heard the victims of the violence spreading in the east of the country, where more than a hundred armed groups are active. Initial plans for the trip, scheduled for July last year but postponed due to Francisco’s health concerns, included a trip to Goma. The pope did not travel to the region, but he was with the victims in Kinshasa, condemning the “vicious atrocities that dishonor humanity” and pointing the finger at the “bloody and illegal exploitation of wealth” by the country.
Francisco heard a 16-year-old young man tell how he saw his father dismembered and his mother abducted and how another victim told of being held as a sexual slave for three months and forced to eat the flesh of dead men. The pope was shocked by the “inhumane” violence and told them: “your tears are my tears”.
Today, on his third day in Kinshasa, Francis has scheduled a meeting with young people and catechists at the Martyrs Stadium, a prayer meeting with priests, deacons and other religious at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Congo and another with Jesuits. Tomorrow, after saying goodbye, he will continue with a new message of peace for South Sudan.
Source: DN
