Christian hope shines through violence, Pope tells bishops of Central African Republic
May 15, 2015
“You must not be discouraged by the storm you are passing through,” Pope Francis told the bishops of the war-torn Central African Republic in a May 15 audience.
Assuring the bishops of his prayerful support, the Pope said that they should play “an indispensable prophetic role during the current institutional transition.” They should be the voice of conscience for the troubled nation, while “avoiding direct involvement in political quarrels,” he said.
The troubles of the African nation, which has been wracked by poverty as well as civil strife, point toward the essence of the Christian mystery, the Pope said. “It is when evil and death seem to triumph that the hope of renewal in Christ emerges.” And if the power of Christian virtue has not yet become evidence, “it is a sign that the Gospel has not yet deeply penetrated the heart of the People of God, to the point of changing their reflexes and their behavior.”
In his message to the bishops, the Pope emphasized pastoral care for families, “who are the first victims of violence and who are too often destabilized or destroyed as a result of the departure of a member, bereavement, poverty, discord and separations.” He urged them “not to be discouraged by resistance due to cultural traditions, human weakness or the new forms of ideological colonization that are spreading everywhere.”
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