Pope Francis arrived in Africa on Wednesday, kicking off his historic trip with a visit to Kenya. The pope is set for a five-day tour, with stops in Uganda and the Central African Republic, where the pontiff will come face-to-face with some of the world's poorest communities and most obstinate conflicts, according to The Washington Post.
Though the trip, especially the stop at the Central African Republic, is deemed extremely dangerous, it nonetheless offers the pope an opportunity to speak directly to one of the world's fastest-growing Catholic populations. In fact, his visit despite the volatility of the region highlights how the Catholic population in Africa is crucial to the future of the church.
Bill O'Keefe, vice president at Catholic Relief Services, a church-affiliated U.S. humanitarian group that does work in Africa, believes that Pope Francis' visit, which includes an intended visit to a mosque in the Central African Republic, sends a powerful message to the nation, reports CNN.
"The holy father is intentionally reaching across religious lines that have been used by elites and factions in the Central African Republic to try to divide the population. It is a unifying gesture to visit mosques and a way of modeling behavior for Central Africans of all faiths," he said.
Despite the inherent risks of the trip, the visit provides Pope Francis a valuable opportunity to directly address the Catholic population in the region and reemphasize the central themes of his papacy, which centers on the reduction of global poverty, climate change, and the abolition of inter-religious strife.
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