In response, Francis told her he was here as a “pilgrim of peace, an apostle of hope”, and that he hoped elections scheduled for next month would enable the conflict-torn country to “serenely begin a new phase of its history”.
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Pope Francis with Central African Republic’s president, Catherine Samba-Panza.
A little after 8am, Francis will meet with five imams at the mosque, then hold a ceremony nearby meant to promote religious reconciliation.
“We are all brothers”, the pope said yesterday as he visited a camp housing some 3,000 internally displaced people in the heart of Bangui.
Francis’ African tour was his 11th trip overseas since he became pope in 2013.
Many hope that the pope’s message of peace and reconciliation can encourage longer-term stability in this nation. “But remember, peace without love, friendship and tolerance is nothing”.
One of the essential characteristics of this vocation to perfection is the love of our enemies, which protects us from the temptation to seek revenge and from the spiral of endless retaliation. “Each one of us has to do something [to forge peace]!”
“The Holy Father has not come to Central Africa for the Catholics, but for Central Africans”.
“We await your messages to free us from our fear of each other, to help us end our conflicts, to change our hearts and put us on the path to serenity, wisdom, brotherhood and peace”, she said.
As journalists were leaving the refugee camp, residents screamed, “Be at ease, we love you, you’re safe”.
Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since President Francois Bozize, a Christian, was ousted by a predominantly Muslim coalition of rebels in 2013, plunging the country into chaos.
“This legacy is not served by an occasional remembrance or by being enshrined in a museum as a precious jewel”, the pontiff said. From defending villages, they begun launching reprisal killings against Muslim civilians, motivated by the resentment the systematic killing of Christians had produced.
The rebels behind the coup went on a rampage that triggered the creation of the equally unsafe anti-Balaka militia in mostly Christian communities. The elections had been postponed in October due to violence and instability. “We ask for peace for Central African Republic and for all people who suffer from war”.
According to the Guardian, the pope was flanked by the Vatican security and armed United Nations peacekeepers during his 24-hour visit to the capital.
Later, Francis headlined a giant pep rally at an unused airstrip. “And it’s perhaps in this dimension that the Central Africans can find the energy, the inspiration so that the country can find the will to reconcile with itself, and that it can plan a future in which all the Central African children can live in unity”.
Healing rifts between Christian and Muslim communities has been a theme throughout Francis’ first visit to the continent, which has also taken him to Kenya and Uganda.
Even before arriving, Francis made a difference.
The national motto expresses “the aspirations of all Central Africans”, the pope said, adding that it provided a “sure compass for the authorities to guide the country’s destiny” and represented “more a work in progress than a finished program”.
For locals suffering through what had previously seemed a nightmare without a resolution in sight, the impact of the pope’s presence seemed tangible.
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“My wish for you, and for all Central Africans, is peace”, Francis said at the St. Sauveur church camp.
