Dancing, singing and cheering for the first papal visit in 38 years
Interview with victims of violence in the eastern region and representatives of charity organizations
Pope Francis, who is visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), called for forgiveness and reconciliation to end the conflict at a large outdoor mass attended by more than 1 million people on the 1st (local time).
“God wants people to have the courage to grant others a great pardon,” Pope Francis said at Mass at Kinshasa’s Ndolo Airport. there is,” he said.
However, referring to decades of violence in eastern Democratic Congo, he stressed that forgiveness does not mean pretending nothing bad has happened.
The Pope’s sermon, which was delivered in Italian, was translated from the podium into French, the official language of Democratic Congo.
Catholics from all over Africa gathered at the airport where the Pope’s Mass was held from the night before to see the Pope in person.
The Associated Press and AFP news agencies estimated that the number of people who attended the Mass would exceed 1 million.
The pope’s visit to the Democratic Congo is the first in 38 years since the visit of Pope John Paul II to Zaire in 1985.
Devotees danced, sang, and cheered as the Pope’s vehicle slowed down the airport runway.
Some female devotees wore clothes with his picture printed on them as a show of respect for the pope, and children climbed aboard a scrapped airplane to get a closer look at the pope.
Democratic Congo, a former Belgian colony, is the largest Catholic country in Africa.
According to official Vatican statistics, the proportion of Catholics in Democratic Congo is estimated to be 49% of the total population of more than 100 million.
In the afternoon after the Mass, the pope met with victims and charity representatives from the eastern region, which have been affected by repeated fighting between rebels and government forces.
Violence continued in Democratic Congo in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which Hutus killed 800,000 people, including minority Tutsi and moderate Hutu.
In particular, in the mineral-rich eastern region, more than 70 armed groups are active, including the Tutsi rebel M23, the Democratic Military Alliance (ADF), and the Malaika Militia, leading to instability, civilian damage, and human rights violations.
Democratic Congo claims that Rwanda is supporting the M23, but Rwanda denies this.
According to the United Nations, 570,000 people have been displaced from these armed conflicts, and 26 million are suffering from starvation.
The World Bank (WB) estimates that about two-thirds of the Democratic Congo’s population live on less than $2.15 a day.
On the 2nd, the pope will give a public speech at the Martyrs Stadium to young people and evangelists in the Democratic Congo, and will also meet with priests, monks, seminarians, Jesuits, and bishops.
Pope Francis will finish his itinerary in the Democratic Congo with an airport farewell ceremony on the morning of the 3rd and leave for Juba, South Sudan, the second country of his trip.
The Pope’s visit to Africa is the first apostolic tour of the new year, about three years after the apostolic visits to Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius in September 2019.
/yunhap news
