Pope Francis will start a trip on Tuesday to two African nations often forgotten by the world, where protracted conflicts have left millions of refugees and displaced people grappling with hunger.
Both countries are rich in natural resources , DRC in minerals and South Sudan in oil – but beset with poverty and strife. Francis will stay in the capital, Kinshasa, but will meet there with victims of violence from the east. DRC is getting its first visit by a pope since John Paul II travelled there in 1985, when it still was known as Zaire.The trip takes on an unprecedented nature on Friday when the pope leaves Kinshasa for South Sudan’s capital, Juba.
The three Churches represent the Christian make-up of the world’s youngest country, which gained independence in 2011 from predominantly Muslim Sudan after decades of conflict and has a population of around 11 million. A 2018 deal stopped the worst of the fighting, but parts of the agreement – including the deployment of a re-unified national army – have not yet been implemented.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is not fragile and never will be.
Uphethe imana yini