JAKARTA - Pope Francis on Wednesday urged parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo to forgive each other, asking Christians involved in fighting to lay down their weapons, where decades-old armed conflict killed millions.
On the first day of his third trip to sub-Saharan Africa, the Pope led a Mass which the local government said attended by more than one million people on the secondary airfield of the capital Kinshasa.
The Congoles' people, the Pope said in his homily, suffer "harmful wounds, continue to be infected by hatred and violence, while the medicines of justice and balesem of hope never seem to have arrived," citing Reuters on February 1.
Armed conflict has caused 5.7 million people to flee domestically and 26 million to face severe hunger, according to the United Nations.
Pope Francis said God wanted people to find "the courage to give great amnesty to others".
"How good it is for us to clear our hearts from anger and regret, from every trace of hatred and hostility!", the Pope exclaimed.
The eastern Congo has been hit by violence associated with the long and complex effects of genocide 1994 in neighboring Rwanda.
Congo accuses Rwanda of supporting the rebel group M23 that fights government forces in the east. Rwanda denies this.
"We left because of the war," said Lea Serunduru, 21, a high school student who fled fighting in the Russhuru area near the border with Uganda, a battle-hit area between the army and M23 last year.
Serundoru said he hoped "armed groups would listen to the Pope and lay down their weapons, because he is a strong and powerful man, and we believe everything will return to normal".
About half of the 90 million people of Congo are Roman Catholics and in his homily, Pope Francis spoke to them and other Christians involved in the fighting.
"Hopefully this is the right time for all of you in this country, who call yourself a Christian but are involved in violence. God tells you: 'Xelect your hand, embrace mercy,'" the whale said.
"The country is not doing well. There are divisions, hatred, many massacres, especially in the east. After the whale homily, I hope peace will return," said Patrick Mukaba, a 35-year-old lawyer, who was there with his wife Laetitia.
The Pope plans to meet victims of violence from eastern Congo on Wednesday night.
Thursday will be his final day in Congo, before departing Friday for neighboring South Sudan, another country grappling with conflict and hunger, on Friday morning.
For the visit of South Sudan, the Pope will be accompanied by Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of Scotland Moderator, an unprecedented joint overseas trip by three Christian leaders.
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