Pope to end Africa trip with Mosque Visit in Besieged Enclave

On the heels of a six-day trip to Africa in which he largely avoided debates over condoms and AIDS, Pope Francis on Monday described condoms as a “Band-Aid” solution to what he sees as the continent’s larger and more urgent humanitarian challenges.

The Pope ended his trip this morning with a visit to the mosque in a Muslim enclave known PK5, where he called for peace between Christians and Muslims, after which crowds followed him to the Bangui Stadium where he officiated a mass.

“The young have been very excited about the arrival of the Pope and came out in huge numbers to greet him”.

The 78-year-old pontiff has hammered home a message of peace and reconciliation during his visit to Central African Republic, which will end with a huge mass at the capital’s 20,000-seat stadium.

Francis also visited displaced people staying in the area, while hundreds of United Nations peacekeepers secured the neighbourhood, some of them surveying it from the minarets of the mosque.

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

‘Fundamentalism is a sickness that is in all religions’. “We Catholics have some”, he said.

“Religious fundamentalism isn’t religion, it’s idolatry”, he told the press. They also wanted the Francis to be more critical of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who has been criticized as seeking to rule the country like a dictator rather than an elected head of state.

Pope Francis dismissed a question on Monday about whether the Roman Catholic Church could condone the use of condoms in the fight against AIDS.

“We are on the verge of suicide, to put it strongly”, he said. Pope Francis also commented on Pope Benedict XVI, saying he began to handle Vatican finance issues and “was the first one to speak against corruption”.

But, he said, the question is too narrow.

“When people are dying from lack of water and food…” “It is not automatic but we will take the steps”. The underlying theme is that we live in a unsafe world and we must protect ourselves or the bad guys will kill us.

At the moment, Spanish Monsignor Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, Italian public relations expert Francesca Chaoqui, and Italian layman Nicola Maio (Vallejo’s assistant), along with two Italian journalists, are facing criminal charges related to the leaks of confidential documents.

So, you could take the liberal approach and say you do your part to care for creation, aren’t a rampant consumer, waster, or destroyer of the planet, all as a way out of dealing with the Paris Summit and how you’re probably part of the reason it’s taking place, or you could care.

Stressing the need for giving witness to the “natural and spiritual wealth” of the country, the pope remembered the victims of the terrorist attack at Garissa University April 2 where Al-Shabaab militants targeted and executed 148 Christian students. The trip is expected in late February.

Missionary spirit is manifested by preaching love, humanity and faith through one’s witness and not through proselytism, Pope Francis said. “By coming [here] he can suggest to us ways and approaches to tackle these problems in a human way”, Father Gichure said.