While it’s a jarring message at the start of the holiday season, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for Francis.
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VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis heads to Africa this week for the riskiest trip of his papacy, defying danger with an open-topped popemobile and visits to a slum, refugee camp and mosque despite security fears following jihadist attacks.
Pope Francis has spoken harsh criticism of the upcoming Christmas celebration. “We know his style is not one of condemning and he’s somebody who is very compassionate”, Okello said. And of more immediate concern to the Vatican, violence between Christians and Muslims in the Central African Republic has raised anxieties about security on Francis’ excursion itself.
“What shall remain in the wake of this war, in the midst of which we are living now?” That is making the pope’s visit a safety risk.
“Pope Francis has been well known as a pro-poor leader and being able to visit the continent associated with poverty he will send a clear message to the world on how to address the plight of poor people”.
Rooted in traditional cultures, many African Catholics have conservative values that might not align with Francis’ measured gestures of tolerance toward, for example, homosexuals.
This has led to many political leaders from both the Government and Opposition to use their platform to outdo each other by uttering inflammatory tribal remarks.
“By coming [here] he can suggest to us ways and approaches to tackle these problems in a human way”, Father Gichure said. “We are the same despite the fact that we have different sexual orientations”.
While gays feel ostracised by the Catholic church’s teachings, Africa’s evangelical protestant preachers are often among the most strident opponents of homosexuality.
“I see this particular pope as more progressive but I wouldn’t call him an ally like (President) Obama”, said Frank Mugisha, a prominent gay leader.
“If he starts talking about rights, then Ugandans are going to be very defensive”, said Mugisha, a Catholic. It is thought that the Pope will be under the watch of United Nations peacekeepers in the country.
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Before auto, Francis will travel to Kenya and Uganda, where a respective 32% and 47% of the populations are Catholic. In 2013, he described his position on gay priests as “Who am I to judge?”
