BY Daniel Harkins | December 2 | comments icon 0 COMMENTS     print icon print

9-POPE-FRANCIS-SEATED

Global challenge of our time is the protection of creation, Pope says

At today’s general audience address in, the Holy Father reflected on his visit to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic, and on poverty and charity

The global challenge of our time is to protect creation, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience address on Wednesday morning.

The Pope was reflecting on his recent trip to Africa, where he visited Uganda, Kenya and the Central African Republic, where religious conflict has been rife since 2013. The model of development, the Holy Father said, must be reformed so that it is fair, inclusive and sustainable.

The Pope said that Kenya is a country ‘blessed with great human and natural resources,’ and added that in Uganda he ‘encouraged the Christian community to persevere in its witness of faith and charity, and thus to be a leaven of hope for society as a whole.’

It was a ‘scandal’ and a ‘shame for humanity’ when poverty exists next to extreme wealth, he added, referring to the situation in Nairobi, Kenya, which he witnessed during his visit to last week. He also stressed, however, that such contradictions exist ‘here too.’

The Holy Father ended on a positive note

“In the Central African Republic, a country experiencing internal conflicts and great suffering, I opened the first Holy Door of the Jubilee of Mercy as a sign of hope and strength for its people and for all our brothers and sisters in Africa,” he added. “I ask you to join me in commending them and all their aspirations to Jesus, our peace, who is himself the door which opens wide to the merciful love of our heavenly Father.”

 

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