[ad_1]
It took Marie-Louise Wambare and her three children years to rebuild her life after fighting M23 and Congolese forces forced her to flee.
Like most Catholics in eastern Congo, the 42-year-old has been hoping since 2012 that Pope Francis will bring a message of hope at a time when M23 rebels pose the greatest threat here. bottom.
“I expect his arrival to be a message of peace and hope, because he always said that no matter how difficult life is, we must keep our faith and keep our hopes alive. ‘ she said, sitting outside Goma’s house.
The pope’s much-anticipated visits to Congo and South Sudan next week come after he postponed earlier visits late last year.
Francis is due to arrive in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, for a three-day visit on January 31st.
When originally scheduled for July, the trip was to include a stop in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
The Vatican has scrapped its itinerary amid a new wave of attacks in parts of North Kivu province.
“A lot of people were disappointed because we wanted him to come into our home so that he could come here and live our suffering and feel it with his own eyes,” said Wambale. said.
“There are pregnant women who gave birth in camps in very poor conditions, and many women and children are suffering.”
Wambare is now tasked with bringing this message to Kinshasa, where she will be one of the Congolese faithful selected to meet Pope Francis personally, who will communicate with the inhabitants of the East and victims of the conflict. We are going to meet.
Violence has ravaged eastern Congo for decades as more than 120 armed groups and self-defense militias fight for land and power.
According to the United Nations, about six million people are internally displaced and hundreds of thousands face extreme food insecurity.
Fighting surged in late 2021 with the resurgence of the M23 rebel group.
Rebels have occupied swathes of land and have been accused by the United Nations and human rights groups of committing atrocities against civilians.
“I fled the war and found myself in turmoil. .
Eastern Congo is also increasingly grappling with violence linked to Islamic extremism. Islamic State claimed responsibility earlier this month for a bomb that exploded inside a church during a religious service, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens.
Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Vatican’s ambassador to the Congo, said that Pope Francis’ visit prompted the Church to “change the narrative, this is not a permanent issue, this is a moral imperative that we should not be concerned with.” I’m trying to say it’s a possible moral urgency,” he added.
An estimated two million Congolese are expected to attend a mass at Kinshasa airport on February 1, which Balestrero said would be the largest crowd event in the country’s recent history. wax.
[ad_2]
Source link
