Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
A boy walks with an umbrella during a shower in Bambari, Central African Republic, Oct. 17. Faith leaders there hope Pope Francis' November visit will help with the peace process. (CNS photo/Goran Tomasevic, Reuters)

Religious leaders in the Central African Republic have predicted that the pope’s upcoming visit could reconcile opposing factions, three years after a Muslim-led rebellion plunged the country into civil war. “This will be a key event for all Central Africans, whatever their religious affiliations,” said Imam Omar Kobine Layama, president of the Islamic Council, on Oct. 22. “We’re hoping the Holy Father will bring a clear message about the unity of believers, interfaith dialogue, human rights and peace, which could really liberate us and help rebuild social links the various armed groups have destroyed.” Pope Francis will visit the capital, Bangui, on Nov. 29-30, after visiting Kenya and Uganda. Included in his itinerary is a meeting with Muslims in the city’s central Koudoukou mosque. The imam said Muslim leaders had asked Pope Francis to call on rebel groups to give up their weapons after U.N.-sponsored disarmament efforts had failed “to get the message across.”

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

“Pope Francis is the pope of the people,” Rosa de los Ríos told America in Spanish before the funeral Mass. “He is very close to the people.... That’s why he was so loved. People felt he was very close to them.”
J.D. Long GarcíaApril 26, 2025
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy met inside St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of the funeral for Pope Francis on the morning of April 26.
Associated PressApril 26, 2025
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re’s homily for the funeral of Pope Francis.
America StaffApril 26, 2025
The day before he died, Pope Francis made one final circuit through St. Peter’s Square in his popemobile. “That’s my last image of him alive,” Gerry O’Connell remembered. “He drove among the people.”