“Francis took off his shoes, went there to pray and be close to Muslims”, the archbishop said.
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Hundreds of thousands more are estimated to have fled overseas in the fighting, which has killed thousands since it first erupted in early 2013.
The chief imam at the mosque, Tidiani Moussa Naibi, thanked Francis for his visit, which he said was “a symbol which we all understand”. Corrupt people do not live in peace. Time will tell whether other Muslims will return.
“But they don’t think about developing the countries, about creating jobs”. Part of that includes helping to heal traumas and eventually will include building bridges between the affected communities, though for the moment in most areas there are no Muslims left to bridge with, said LeAnn Hager, the country representative for CRS.
But it sent an inspiring message of hope and peace to Christians and Muslims in a nation that has been locked in a cycle of sectarian violence since December 2012.
“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”. In a euphoric moment, some even shouted “the war is over!”
Dialogue is possible, they have many values and these values are constructive…You can not wipe out a religion just because there are some or a number of groups of fundamentalists at one moment in history.
Pope Francis also pointed to slave labor, environmental exploitation and arms trafficking as some of the more significant problems facing humanity.
A photo of Pope Francis visiting the Central African Republic has become the latest viral sensation across the Internet, and it’s because the leader of the Catholic Church checks his mic and resembles a rapper.
“We are on the verge of suicide, to put it strongly”, he said. “God is peace. Salaam”, he added, using the Arabic word for peace.
“One of the most-rare values today is that of brotherhood”, a value essential for peace, he said. Some jubilant residents emboldened by the high security in the area even followed the pope into the city’s center shouting “the war is over”, a hopeful sign that this religiously divided capital could potentially reunite.
Dominique Lonzia and his wife, Edorcie, are still grieving the death of her sister, who died in a grenade attack launched by Muslim rebel fighters.
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The last event on the pope’s schedule was a Mass in a sports stadium, where he urged the Catholic community to participate in the Year of Mercy by moving forward courageously toward peace and reconciliation. In Uganda he urged people to treat “everyone with dignity and not exclud[e] anyone”, and in a prepared speech at a meeting of clergymen at St Mary’s Church in Kampala he did say “May we never forget that our “yes” to Jesus is a “yes” to his people” – perhaps a nudge to priests that believers come in all shapes, sizes and indeed, sexual preferences. “We will forgive them because of the Lord”.
