Pope Francis will make an international pastoral visit to the African countries Congo and South Sudan from the end of January to the beginning of February. Before her visit, she had a chat with missionaries in Africa, encouraging them to respect African culture, help Africa’s development, and care for the local people.
(Vatican News Network)The Pope is regarding to make an international pastoral visit to the African countries Congo and South Sudan from the end of January to the beginning of February. One month before his visit, the Pope had a chat with the members of the Kimberney Missionary Society in Africa, expressing his importance and concern for the African continent.
The Pope said his planned July 2022 visit had been postponed due to knee problems. The pope talked regarding the two countries he will visit. The pope said: “I will go to South Sudan with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the leaders of the Church of Scotland. We have cooperated very well.” Regarding the Democratic Republic of Congo, “You need only look at the Congolese faithful in Rome, led by Sister Rita, who teaches at the university and who conducts like a bishop,” said the Pope. “I celebrated Mass in the Congolese liturgy in Rome, It is a community with which I am very close. I am looking forward to this international pastoral journey.”
“South Sudan is a group that is suffering. Congo is also suffering from guerrilla warfare at this moment, that’s why I’m not going to Goma, I can’t go, because the guerrilla warfare is moving forward. I’m not going because I’m afraid, I’m not going to have an accident, but because of the general situation there, what happened there, bombs were dropped in the stadium, a lot of people were killed. We have to care regarding the people there.”
The pope emphasized that Africa never ceases to amaze people. He especially admired the missionaries who preached in this vast continent and said: “What amazes me the most is the missionaries. They have the ability to be in this land. They respect African culture and help them develop.” “I see the mission of the Catholic Church. Not proselytizing, but preaching the Gospel according to the culture of each place. This is Catholicism, respect for culture, there is no such thing as Catholic culture; yes, there is Catholicism, but every culture is rooted in Catholicism environment, which has been shown in the action of the Holy Spirit on the morning of Pentecost. It is obvious that Catholicism is not uniformity, but harmony, a harmony of differences. And this harmony is created by the Holy Spirit. A missionary to go forward, to respect all that one encounters everywhere, and to help create harmony, not to engage in ideology or proselytizing, and not to decolonize.”
The Pope concluded by saying: “In other continents there are some deviations, such as the serious problems of the Canadian schools that I have been to and talked regarding. Missionaries must respect the culture of the local people and live in that culture in order to be able to carry out their missions. his job.”
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