Pope sends peace message before visit to Kenya, Uganda and auto

Pope Francis waves to the crowd at the University of Nairobi as he arrives to deliver a giant open-air mass on November 26, 2015.

His Holiness Pope Francis today called on world leaders to seal a strong agreement at the Paris climate change meeting next month, adding that transforming current development models was a “political and economic obligation”, as he visited the global headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi.

American television channel, Fox News, suffered the wrath of Kenyans on Twitter after it portrayed Africa as a “war torn” continent in its coverage of Pope Francis’ visit.

In a speech at the United Nations’ Nairobi office during his first visit to Africa, Francis said he hoped an accord at the U.N.’s Climate Change Conference (COP21), which begins on November 30, would aim to lessen the impact of climate change, fight poverty and respect human dignity.

Pope Francis made a plea for traditional values, saying “the health of any society depends on the health of its families”.

“The God whom we serve is a God of peace”.

No sooner had Pope Francis taken the mantle of leading the world’s estimated 1.2 billion Catholics on March 19, 2013, than he honoured several members of the clergy and the laity with the Benemerenti Medal for their dedication to the church.

On Friday, Francis will visit a slum in the outskirts of Nairobi and meet with local youths before heading to Uganda, where he’ll address local leaders, a group of catechists and teachers, religious men and women, celebrate a Mass honoring the Ugandan Martyrs, and visit the House of Charity of Nalukolongo.

Kenyatta called corruption a scourge and said his administration was committed to fighting it. “We sacrifice our people and our environment in the pursuit of illegal profit”. “It is not something extra or optional, but essential”, he told them, stressing that God’s name “must never be used to justify hatred and violence”.

Earlier, Francis met with 25 representatives of Kenya’s diverse faiths, including Anglicans, other Protestants, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Jews.

Pope Francis has boarded his open-sided popemobile for a spin through the tens of thousands of people gathered for his first public Mass in Africa.

Kenya and Uganda have been victims of the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab, which has unleashed terror and mayhem in those countries, together with Somalia, where it’s based.

Kenyan Sen. Hassan Omar, a Muslim, says he has keenly followed Pope Francis and has welcomed his message of tolerance and care for the poor. “He has talked about the plight of Palestinians, the weak and the downtrodden”.

Some people had been at the University of Nairobi since 3 a.m., braving heavy showers that turned the grounds into thick puddles of mud.

“I am a Catholic and I believe he is a godsend”.