…Pope meets political, religious leaders
When Pope Francis landed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on the first leg of his fourth trip to Africa, which will also take him to South Sudan, he called a stop to bloodshed.
Since John Paul II’s visit in 1985, he is the second pope to travel to the Catholic nation that is riven by conflict.
He travelled to the presidential palace in Kinshasa, the capital of the country, and had a private conversation with President Felix Tshisekedi there.
The two leaders addressed 1,000 people, including political and religious leaders, representatives of civil society groups and the foreign diplomatic corps.
The motto for Francis’ visit is “Tous réconcilié en Jésus Christ” (All reconciled in Jesus Christ), according to the Vatican.
“It is a call to the Congolese to reconcile with God and among themselves, especially the political actors,” said Monsignor Marcel Utembi, archbishop of Kisangani and president of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo.
Eastern Congo remains volatile with 5.7 million people internally displaced amid food insecurity, according to the UN.
The visit was postponed from July 2021 after the pope’s doctors advised against traveling due to health concerns.
Francis is scheduled Wednesday to preside over an open-air mass expected to be attended by 1.5 million people at N’Dolo Airport, Kinshasa’s secondary airport.
Sylvano Kasongo, the provincial police chief of Kinshasa, said 7,500 officers will be deployed at the airport for security. According to Vatican statistics, almost half of the 95 million people are Catholics.
Meeting with political and religious leaders, representatives of civil society groups, Francis’s speech dwelled on the most critical issues affecting the country, including the ongoing conflict in the east and economic colonialism.
Francis plunged headfirst into his agenda upon arrival, denouncing the centuries-long exploitation of Africa by colonial powers, today’s multi-national extraction industries and the neighbouring countries interfering in Congo’s affairs that has led to a surge in fighting in the east.
“Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa!” Francis said to applause in his opening speech to Congolese government authorities and the diplomatic corps in the garden of Kinshasa’s national palace.
Calling Congo’s vast mineral and natural wealth a “diamond of creation,” Francis demanded that foreign interests stop carving up the country for their own interests and acknowledge their role in the economic “enslavement” of the Congolese people.
“Stop choking Africa: It is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered,” said history’s first Latin American Pope, who has long railed at how wealthy countries have exploited the resources of poorer ones for their own profit.
Since his ascension in 2013, Francis has made four trips to the continent and visited eight countries.
The pope’s visit came amid renewed fighting in North Kivu province between M23 rebels and government troops
A peace process agreed to in November by African leaders at a mini-summit in the Angolan capital of Luanda is struggling.
“We cannot grow accustomed to the bloodshed that has marked this country for decades, causing millions of deaths. The current peace processes, which I greatly encourage, need to be sustained by concrete deeds, and commitments should be maintained,” said Francis
The pope condemned the international community which he said, “has practically resigned itself to the violence devouring” the Congo.
*Tshisekedi “regretted the silence of the international community” in the face of the current crisis.
Speaking alongside Tshisekedi, Francis urged the Congolese to reject violence, stressing the need for a renewed effort to support development and peace.
“I stand with you and I accompany with my prayers and closeness every effort made to achieve a peaceful, harmonious and prosperous future for this great country. God bless the entire Congolese nation,” he told the audience at the presidential palace.
Francis also spoke about the importance of promoting transparent and credible elections as the Congo will hold its next presidential elections in December
Thousands of Congolese lined the streets to greet the Francis
“His voice has been heard by the world. He said it all, he talked about the injustices to which we are subjected,” Vital Kamerhe, opposition politician and former chief of staff for Tshisekedi, said about the pope’s speech
