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Travelling with the Pope; a journalists’ perspective

The Pope takes time to individually greet the journalists on board the plane – some handed to him gifts sent by people, another made him watch a brief video on her iPad. Others gave him possessions to bless (as I did).

It was during this part of the trip that a journalist asked whether he had any security fears going to Africa. There couldn’t have been a better answer from the man of the people.

READ: Insecurity? It’s only mosquitoes I’m worried about – Pope

The next time I came close to the Pope was on the return journey to the Vatican.

On the return trip, we got the chance to ask questions and my colleague from the Daily Nation wanted to know how the Pope felt hearing the testimonies of the youth and at Kangemi. “I spoke clearly about rights. I felt pain. I thought, how is it that people do not notice? I felt great pain. Yesterday, for example, I went to a paediatric hospital, the only one in Bangui and maybe in the country, and in the intensive care unit they do not have instruments of oxygen. There were many malnourished children there, many of them, and doctor told me that the majority of them will die soon because they have a very bad malaria and are seriously malnourished,” Pope Francis recalled.

When I asked him where his next overseas trip would be to and if it was likely to be Africa this was his response: ” If things go well, I believe the next trip will be in Mexico. The details are not yet defined. Second: Will I return to Africa? I don’t know. I am old and the trips are difficult.”

And what was his most memorable moment of the Africa trip?

“The crowds. That joy. That capacity to celebrate on an empty stomach. But for me, Africa was a surprise. I thought, God surprises us, but even Africa surprises us. There were many moments. But the crowds, They felt visited. They have a very great sense of welcome. I saw in the three nations that they had this sense of welcome because they were happy to feel visited. Moreover, each nation has its own identity. Kenya is a little more modern, developed. Uganda has the identity of Martyrs. The Ugandan people, both Catholic and Anglicans, venerate the Martyrs. I was at both shrines. The Anglican one, and then the Catholic. The memory of the Martyrs is their ‘identity card,’ the courage to give their lives for a cause. The Central African Republic: the desire for peace, for reconciliation, for pardon.”

And he can be witty in his response to questions. When asked by Juergen Baetz of DPA whether it is time for the Church to change its position and allow the use of condoms to prevent more infections, Pope Francis coolly said: “The question seems too small to me, it also seems like a partial question. The problem is bigger…this question makes me think of one they once asked Jesus: “Tell me, teacher, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? Is it obligatory to heal?” This question, “is doing this lawful,” … but malnutrition, the development of the person, slave labour, the lack of drinking water, these are the problems. Let’s not talk about if one can use this type of patch or that for a small wound, the serious wound is social injustice, environmental injustice… when all are cured, when there aren’t these illnesses, tragedies that man makes, whether for social injustice or to earn more money, I think of the trafficking of arms, when these problems are no longer there, I think we can ask the question “is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

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