This Wednesday pope Francisco started his first visit to Africa, he landed in Kenya’s capital, where he received an acknowledgement with dancers and a chorus.
Africa is the continent where the Catholic population is growing quickly, and in the middle of this, faces its challenges.
This visit from Pope Francisco, started in Kenya; according to his itinerary he is going to Uganda and to the Central African Republic; this last place is considered a highly conflict zone because there are bands of Christians and Muslims, who attack the civilians. His visit is going on despite of the instability that exist in the zone, and matches with the growing of Catholics church in this continent.
According to Bill O’Keefe, the vice president of “Catholic Relief Services”, an American Humanitarian group that is linked to the church, Catholics’ population in Africa, is growing in a fast way in comparison to any other place on the world. “The catholic population in Africa has grown 238% since 1980 and is getting closer to 200 million”, he affirmed with data from the Applied Investigation Center in the Apostolate.
Due to this growth, he said, “if the actual tendencies continue, the 24% of the Africans are going to be catholic in 2040”, this visit from the pope is very important for the continent and it can contribute to add more believers to catholic religion.
Besides his visit to the region, in the pope’s plans is included a visit to the mosque in the Central African Republic, act that according to the experts, is a powerful message in the search of unity.
“The holy father is intentionally extending himself to the religious lines that have been used by elites and factions in the Central African Republic to try to divide the population” said O’Keefe, plus, he argued that this act from the pope is “a gesture that is looking for the mosque’s unification and a way to form the behavior for every Central African of all religions.
Two years ago, a Muslim rebel group defeated the Cristian president of the Central African Republic, fact that caused attacks against civilians, from Christians and also from Muslims troops.
Actually this offensive continue and had caused the displacement of hundred thousands of people.
In the visits to Kenya’s capital, is expected to be directed to Kangemi, a poor neighborhood in the outskirts of Nairobi and in the Central African Republic; he will visit a refugees’ field. It is necessary to remember that since pope Francisco assumed the Catholic church’s leadership, has left very clear that the oppressed are a priority.
Pope’s visit with religious leaders means a big impulse to those who work for the restoration of peace in the zone, because of this is expected that his visit impulses the morality among population, and also in the increase in the number of believers.
ALFA