Central African Republic: Pope Francis Says Christians And Muslims Are All

The pope traveled in his open-air vehicle through the neighborhood despite the security risks.

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.

Pope Francis’ comment came in a news conference after his six-day trip to Africa, a continent he said was a “martyr of exploitation”.

This, he said, is also why the refugee camp was Francis’ first stop after meeting the authorities.

“Together, we must say no to hatred, to revenge and to violence, particularly that violence which is perpetrated in the name of a religion or of God himself”, Pope Francis insisted.

“We are very proud to welcome him, the pope is not only for the Christians, he is a servant of God for all Central Africans”, said Ibrahim Paulin, a spokesman for the displaced.

“The first, which is widely considered the first genocide of the twentieth century, struck your own Armenian people”, he said, quoting a declaration signed in 2001 by Pope John Paul II and Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians. After welcoming the pope, Christian and Muslim leaders went to the neighborhood locking arms and chanting slogans for peace.

“They remind us of the importance that faith, moral rectitude and commitment to the common good have played, and continue to play, in the cultural, economic and political life of this country”. “We can only hope that the next national vote gives the nation leaders who are able to unite the Central African population, becoming symbols of unity of the nation, rather than representing some faction”.

Nzapalainga said he was hopeful the goodwill generated by Pope Francis’s visit would carry over into presidential elections scheduled for December. The civil war, which began in March 2013 following a coup d’etat orchestrated by the rebels to take over the Bozizé government, has forced the majority of the 122,000 Muslims to flee the country.

Earlier, he met acting President Catherine Samba-Panza at the presidential palace who begged his forgiveness for the wave of “evil” sectarian violence that has devastated the country.

The Muslims who live on the grounds of Nary’s church may now venture out occasionally into town, though they always return at night because of the precarious security that still reigns, he said.

“There are powers that only look to take possession of Africa’s great riches”, he said, “but they don’t think about helping the African nations to grow, or about creating jobs”. At the edge of the district, armed Muslim rebels stood alert in front of wooden barricades, watching out for any threat from Christian vigilantes.

Bangui, the capital of the former French colony, has seen a surge in clashes that have left at least 100 people dead since late September. “They were stabbed to death, their throats were slit, or they were shot at close range”, according to a Human Rights Watch statement last week.

On Monday, he arrived in Bangui’s Barthelemy Boganda Stadium to celebrate an open-air, final Mass of the tour before tens of thousands of worshipers.

“Coldest rapper to ever call Rome my home/ Rhymes so real Moses could set ’em in stone #PopeBars”, Sam Johnson freestyled.