“There are wars today everywhere, and hate”, he said. He also visits conflict-torn Central African Republic.
Advertisement
The 78-year old Argentine pontiff, a self-appointed defender of the downtrodden, is expected to give 19 speeches on his 11th foreign trip, meeting with victims of war, child soldiers and AIDS sufferers as well as those who live in extreme poverty.
Hassan Nado, deputy secretary general of the SUPKEM, told Anadolu Agency that the Pope’s visit would show “we all worship one God”.
“I believe that Kenyans, including Muslims, will come out in large numbers to welcome the Pope”, Nado said.
It will not be the first papal appearance in either country: the pope’s globe-trotting predecessor John Paul II travelled to Kenya three times, while Uganda holds the honour of having been the first African country to be visited by a pope, with Paul VI going in 1964.
In the year 2012, a few 18.6 percent of folks in Africa were Catholic, the report said.
The Catholic Church in Africa faces particular challenges, including conventional customs of ancestor veneration that clash with church doctrine and other Christian denominations offering the power to heal to congregations.
Bishop Barthelemy Adoukonou wrote a chapter for that book in which he said Christianity was being challenged “not only by a radical, militant Islamism, but also by a certain Western civilization that is secularist, hedonist, sensualist, and consumerist”.
In Uganda, where homosexuality is still criminalised under a colonial-era law, and where attacks against gays have forced many to flee overseas or lead secret lives at home, gay leaders hope Francis will bring a firm message of tolerance. He has called for a Catholic Church that is more tolerant and welcoming for those on the margins, including gays.
“Pope Francis visiting Uganda is one of the most exciting things to have happened to me, especially as we share names”, said his namesake in Kampala.
The pope’s upcoming trip to the country, where same-sex acts are illegal, has many wondering if he will address the issue of widespread and sometimes violent homophobia.
Advertisement
“Kangemi has had lots of problems for a very long time, we can see the roads have been upgraded, street lights have been installed”, Wangeci said.
