As Pope Francis Visits Africa

Against a post-Paris backdrop of security concerns, Pope Francis this morning sets out on a five-day visit to Africa, travelling to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic.

The Pope intends to visit a refugee camp in Bangui on November 29, and then, the following day, he plans to pray at a mosque in a Muslim neighbourhood where Christians have been largely expelled.

Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet has said State agencies are on high alert to ensure nothing is left to chance as the country welcomes the second high-profile visitor this year, after US President Barack Obama’s visit in July. The Catholic church holds that being gay is not a sin but homosexual acts are.

“I hope with all my heart that my visit will help heal your wounds and open the way to a more peaceful future for vehicle and all its inhabitants”, the Pope stated.

Uganda and Kenya are both involved in combatting Somalian jihadists who killed 148 people at Kenya’s Garissa university in April while the vehicle has witnessed gruesome scenes of sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians.

Pope Francis embarks this week on an Africa tour that will take him to the Central African Republic, Kenya and Uganda.

Like Banura, many Ugandans say they feel there is no contradiction between supporting religious doctrine that does not condemn LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) citizens, and at the same time supporting laws which send such individuals to jail.

At a recent Vatican meeting on family issues, African cardinals were at the forefront in blocking the church’s overtures to gays and in insisting that the Catholic Church as a whole denounce this “ideological colonization”, saying wealthy countries have no right to impose their ideas on poor countries with different cultural views. In a continent where the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church are sometimes reinforced by African traditional patriarchal norms of power and privilege, Pope Francis’ style of leadership offers a new model of service.

In Uganda, security forces say they too are ready, including preparing for some 100,000 people to see the pope at the Kololo Independence grounds in Kampala on Saturday.

Unlike his diplomatic work on Cuba, in which he encouraged the U.S.to normalize relations with an historic enemy, Pope Francis has a limited political role to play between the CAR’s warring militias.

In 2012, some 18.6 percent of people in Africa were Catholic, the report said. Potentially the most hazardous stop of his trip is the third leg to the Central African Republic. “And, like any wise person would do, we are monitoring the situation”, Vatican spokesman Rev. Father Lombardi told the Catholic Herald in London.