Pope Francis: I went to Africa with Message of Hope

It lasted for six days with a very warm welcome coming from devotees.

Pope Francis said on Monday that Christians and Muslims were “brothers”, urging them to reject hatred and violence while visiting a mosque in the Central African Republic’s capital which has been ravaged by sectarian conflict.

However, nowhere is his call for peace and reconciliation more pressing than in Central African Republic, where thousands have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced in clashes that have split the country along religious lines.

Francis was asked about the church’s opposition to condoms while returning Monday to Rome from Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic.

“One of the most-rare values today is that of brotherhood”, a value essential for peace, he said.

This global political intervention is scary to some people, as if this “idea” of climate change is not only not-a-threat, but also, not-proven; indeed, some people – around the internets – are anxious that concern for the planet is nothing more than a ploy towards actualizing this supposedly-not-already-here-but-we-reject-it-if-it-is-not-Christendom-or-conservatism one global political and economic system.

Africa, particularly Kenya and Uganda, has suffered greatly from the AIDS epidemic in recent years, and the Catholic Church has come under fire for its opposition to condoms, which health advocates say has exacerbated the problem. “Religious fundamentalism isn’t religion, it’s idolatry”. Ideas and false certainties take the place of faith, love of God and love of others. In Uganda, where homosexuality is still criminalised under a colonial-era law, and where attacks against gays have forced many to flee overseas or lead secret lives at home, gay leaders hope Francis will bring a firm message of tolerance. “Every year the problems are getting worse”.

“God is stronger than all else”, the pope said.

Despite the security risks, the pope traveled in an open-air vehicle and received an exuberant welcome.

He called fundamentalism “a disease of all religions”, including the Roman Catholic Church.

But, he said, the question is too narrow.

“Our world has a grave social debt toward the poor who lack access to drinking water, because they are denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity”.

“He was the first one to speak against corruption”, Francis said.

“If humanity doesn’t change course, misery, tragedies, [and] wars will continue, children will keep dying from hunger and injustice”, he said, pointedly asking what the small percentage of elites “that has in its hands 80 percent of the world’s wealth” thinks about the situation. When asked about the Vatileaks trial, Pope Francis claimed not to have “lost any sleep”. “And it will take time”, Rev Narv said.

As for future trips, Pope Francis was not full of surprises. The trip is expected in late February. Earlier the French defense ministry warned that he should not go, and even the security forces in C.A.R. said they could not guarantee the pontiff’s safety, which would have surely tested even this pope’s faith.