VATICAN CITY (Zenit.org): Pope Benedict XVI will make his first trip to Africa to give hope to peoples that suffer violence and poverty, says a Vatican spokesman.
Director of the Vatican press office Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi affirmed this on the most recent edition of Vatican Television’s “Octava Dies”.
The Holy Father announced at the end of the recent world Synod of Bishops his plans to travel to Angola and Cameroon next March, an announcement that Fr Lombardi called “an important piece of news”.
“John Paul II, who had given Africa his passionate attention – coming to be called ‘John Paul II the African’ by (the late) Cardinal Hyacinthe Thiandoum (of Dakar, Sengal) – was unable to return to the continent during the last years of his pontificate,” Fr Lombardi said.
“His last brief trips there were in ’98 to Nigeria and in 2000 to Egypt and Sinai.”
Pope Benedict XVI has not yet travelled to Africa in his three and a half years as Pope.
“Certainly, Africa, with its grave problems, has been present in his words and his heart, but a trip always has broad implications of participation, presence and direct contact,” Fr Lombardi said.
“Moreover, 2009 will be the year of the special assembly of the synod of bishops for Africa, and the Pope’s trip will have a fundamental role in its preparation, such that the whole of the Church will direct its gaze toward Africa.
“All of us have in mind the dramatic images of conflict and poverty, but also an extraordinary vitality of the continent, which must be liberated, animated, sustained and oriented, so that Africans can build Africa with dignity and hope.
“A message of hope: This is certainly what Pope Benedict XVI will bring to African lands.”
