In Congo, Pope Francis draws the world's attention to the conflict-torn African nation's plight
‘Hands off Africa!’, Pope Francis said this while calling the Congo’s vast mineral and natural wealth a ‘diamond of creation’. He further demanded that foreign powers stop plundering Africa’s natural resources for the ‘poison of their own greed’
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Pope Francis on Tuesday arrived in Congo to a raucous welcome by the Congolese who were grateful that he was focusing the world’s attention on their forgotten plight. Congolese from the country’s violent east flew to Kinshasa to inform Pope Francis about the years of awful violence they endured. AFP
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Tens of thousands of people lined the main road into the capital, Kinshasa, to welcome Pope Francis after he landed at the airport, some standing three or four deep, with children in school uniforms taking the front row. AP
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Pope Francis plunged headfirst into his agenda upon arrival, denouncing the centuries-long exploitation of Africa by colonial powers, today’s multinational extraction industries and the neighbouring countries interfering in Congo’s affairs that has led to a surge in fighting in the east. AP
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“Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa!” Pope Francis said to applause in his opening speech to Congolese government authorities and the diplomatic corps in the garden of Kinshasa’s national palace. AP
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Calling Congo’s vast mineral and natural wealth a “diamond of creation,” Pope Francis demanded that foreign interests stop carving up the country for their own interests and acknowledge their role in the economic “enslavement” of the Congolese people. AFP
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“Stop choking Africa: It is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered,” said history’s first Latin American pope, who has long railed at how wealthy countries have exploited the resources of poorer ones for their own profit. AFP
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“The poison of greed has smeared its diamonds with blood,” Pope Francis said. “May the world acknowledge the catastrophic things that were done over the centuries to the detriment of the local peoples, and not forget this country and this continent." AFP
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Notably, the surrounding North Kivu region has been plagued by intense fighting between government troops and the M23 rebel group, as well as attacks by militants linked to the Islamic State group. The fighting has displaced some 5.7 million people, a fifth of them last year alone, according to the World Food Program. AP
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Pope Francis on the second day of his visit urged Congo’s people to forgive those who committed “inhuman violence” against them, celebrating a Mass for 1 million people. He also heard firsthand of the atrocities some of them have endured, including a teenage girl “raped like an animal” for months. AP
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