The Pope begins his journey postponed to Africa, bled to death by hunger and wars

The Pope will begin his 40th apostolic journey this Tuesday with a pilgrimage until Sunday 5 February in two very rich African countries, with its subsoils rich in minerals and considered among the poorest in the worldto give them comfort and hope in an environment of violence, food shortages and climatic disasters.

In the Republic of Congo and South Sudan, Francis will promote a national reconciliation that distances them from civil wars, such as a peace pilgrim to avert conflicts and the violence that doesn’t stop.

The Argentine Pope will also travel to the second largest country in Africa, with more than 90 million inhabitants, half of whom are Catholics, as a “pastor who meets the people of God” in the Republic of Congo.

In South Sudan, which became independent from Sudan in 2011, Jorge Bergoglio will travel together with Anglican leaders, the archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, Jim Wallace.

It concerns a common ecumenical pilgrimage, unprecedented in history, testify to the faithful of the two main Christian religions of a young nation tormented by famine and war, the commitment of its leaders to help them embark on the path towards socio-economic growth and peace.

The African visit was scheduled for the middle of last year, but the Pope had to cancel it due to mobility problems caused by pain in his knee which prevented him from walking.

Now he is much better, even if he can only walk briefly and cannot celebrate masses and other religious acts which he presides over by delegating it to another religious. But the faithful and their interlocutors have understood the Pope’s need to continue to use a wheelchair when traveling.

Challenge for Francis

This week’s is one of the most difficult tours for Francisco, in particular in the Democratic Republic of Congo, punished by the violence in the east of the country, which forced him to cancel his planned visit to Goma, the second Congolese city.

In the eastern regions more than one hundred armed groups are active, partly funded by very powerful business interests behind the domination of mineral wealth as important as the coltan mineson the border with Rwanda, an essential mineral for making electronic devices and the most complex modern weapons.

The Pope’s first stop will be Kinshasa, one of the main African cities, with 16 million inhabitants. Francis will board the popemobile, waving to the crowd that will gather to celebrate his arrival.

The Catholic Church has great influence in what used to be called Zaire and before independence the Belgian Congo. The highlight of his visit to Kinshasa will be mass at Ndolo airport, which is expected to be attended by over one million people.

Unable for security reasons to travel to Goma, the Pope will receive at the building of the apostolic nunciature (Vatican embassy) where he will stay, a delegation of victims of violence in the east of the country who will bear witness to their suffering.

In those areas affected by the war last year The Italian ambassador in Kinshasa, Luca Attanasio, is assassinatedand its keeper.

In the Uturi region, more than two hundred civilians have died in the last six weeks as a result of clashes and military attacks. More than 50,000 people have been forced to flee. According to the United Nations, there are one and a half million displaced persons in that province.

Violence and natural resources

In his speeches, the Pope will criticize the excessive exploitation of natural resources with the use of violence attacking the workers and other inhabitants of the country.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who visited Congo in preparation for the pope’s visit, said the wounds caused by the violence “are very deep”.

“It is a protracted situation: violence, confrontations and conflicts. The fact that the Pope is meeting the victims of this situation is a very significant gesture that will undoubtedly comfort them,” Parolin said.

The clashes in the east, especially in the Goma area, are fueled by the growing confrontation between the Republic of Congo and Rwanda, accused of supporting the M23, the most important guerrilla group, which is allegedly implicated in the assassination of the Italian ambassador and the non-commissioned officer of the carabinieri who escorted him.

In the Vatican they underlined that “the international community fears that the conflict could continue with destabilizing consequences in the regions of East Africa”.

According to the United Nations World Food Programme, more than 26 million people face severe hunger in the Republic of the Congo.

The Catholic Church has always strongly supported the need for the country to have democratic regimes and for the electoral process not to be interrupted. There will be presidential elections in December and the political groups aspire to have the support or benevolence of the Catholics, the most important religious faith in the country.

Congolese of all religions are shocked the Pope’s visit, the first since John Paul II was there in 1985. Since then, the long conflicts have left thousands dead and millions displaced, mainly forced to fight hunger and malnutrition.

Unpublished visit to South Sudan

On Friday the Pope will greet the Congolese and leave for Juba, the capital of South Sudan, the youngest and most troubled African country.

Independence from the rest of Sudan in 2011, two years after the civil war, dealing with different ethnic groups. The result was a massacre estimated at 400,000 people.

Five years later, the war was under control, even if the premise of consolidating the peace with a unified national army has not been achieved so far.

The arrival of a Pope for the first time already represents a significant element of peacemaking. But the character of the visit is even more extraordinary because Francis will arrive accompanied by the two most important leaders of the Anglican Church. In South Sudan the presence of Anglicans is important. There are no precedents for such an important ecumenical journey in Christian history.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Church of Scotland moderator Ian Greenshields will accompany the Catholic Pope. Welby commented, “After centuries of division, leaders from three different parts of Christianity are coming together in an unprecedented way.”

South Sudanese political leaders visited the Pope in the Vatican in 2013, accompanied by Anglican church leaders. In the an extraordinary and unprecedented gesture In remembrance, the pontiff knelt down and kissed the feet of Sudanese leaders, imploring them to become “artisans of peace”.

The population of this new Sudan, including two and a half million displaced persons and refugees and 2.3 million who fled the country due to the civil war, saw the Pope’s gesture through the media and welcomed the attitude of the Argentine pope.

Now they are preparing to welcome him, as he had promised when he had to suspend his trip last year due to health problems.

South Sudan is considered among the poorest countries on the planet, with a per capita income of just $322. The population also lives thanks to the aid of international organizations.

More than eight and a half million people, 76% of the population suffers from hunger the most widespread disease in this country.

After his arrival, the Pope will meet the political leaders in Juba and on Saturday 4 February he will meet the religious in the cathedral of Santa Teresa. Also that day he will receive delegations of internally displaced persons in the cathedral and will listen to them.

The three religious leaders will participate in an ecumenical celebration preceded in the mausoleum of John Karang, hero of independence. In a country of 11 million people, 70% identify as Christian, Anglican, Catholic or Presbyterian.

The Scottish Greenshieds said his church has partnered with the Catholic Church since 2015 to “support vital work for peace, reconciliation and conflict resolution.”

He added: “We pray that this visit with the Holy Father will be a catalyst for South Sudan’s leaders to focus on what unites them and not what divides them, because all are loved equally in the eyes of the Lord.”

Vatican correspondent

B. C