VATICAN (Agencies): Pope Francis concluded a seven-day trip to Madagascar, Mauritius and Mozambique from September 3 to 10. On his fourth visit to Africa, Pope Francis delivered 15 speeches—five in Mozambique, eight in Madagascar and two in Mauritius.
His objective was to offer comfort and rekindle unity in a region struggling with natural disasters, poverty and religious and political tensions.
Hope, peace, and reconciliation were the three main pillars of Pope Francis’s message to lawmakers and young people during his first papal visit to Mozambique. “As we know, peace is not merely absence of war but a tireless commitment …to recognise, protect and concretely restore the dignity, so often overlooked or ignored, of our brothers and sisters, so that they can see themselves as the principal protagonists of the destiny of their nation,” he said to thousands of young Catholics who gathered in Maputo stadium to hear him.
On the island nation of Madagascar, Pope Francis noted the juxtaposition of paradise-like beaches and lush flora and fauna and crushing poverty, saying that preservation of the country’s natural beauty contrasts with rapid deforestation that puts both people and biodiversity at risk.
“Your lovely island of Madagascar is rich in plant and animal biodiversity, yet this treasure is especially threatened by excessive deforestation, from which some profit,” pope said during his speech to local authorities including president Andry Rajoelina.
He denounced inequality, oppression and unemployment, while calling upon God to touch the hearts of employers so that they “make every effort to ensure workers receive a just wage and enjoy conditions respectful of their human dignity.”
In Mauritius, Pope Francis urged authorities, civil society, and diplomats not to let economic development be at the expense of the country’s young, poor, and environment.
He went on to encourage civil leaders to resist the temptation of an “idolatrous economic model that feels the need to sacrifice human lives on the altar of speculation and profit alone, considering only immediate advantage to the detriment of protecting the poor, the environment and its resources.”
The nation stands in need of “A conversion that seeks not only to avoid terrible climatic phenomena or extreme natural catastrophes, but also to promote a change in the way we live, so that economic growth can really benefit everyone, without the risk of causing ecological catastrophes or serious social crises,” the pope stated.
He called on the people of the region to continue participating in the process of maintaining peaceful coexistence.
