Pope urges hope for a closer world

The pope made a final appeal at the end of his African pilgrimage today for greater world solidarity to ensure the Earth’s resources are more equally shared.

He also urged Angola’s leaders to make “the fundamental aspirations of the most needy people” their main concern.

“Our hearts cannot be at peace as long as there are brothers that suffer the lack of food, work, a house, and other fundamental goods,” the 81-year-old said.

He also delivered a blessing for Angola’s people as he wrapped up a seven-day trip, his first to the continent as pontiff. He visited Cameroon and Angola, each with large Catholic populations.

The pope spoke out strongly against corruption during the visit, urging that African’s poor not be forgotten.

Both Angola and Cameroon are rich in resources, including oil, but the countries’ bishops accuse their presidents’ authoritarian regimes of using those resources to enrich a small elite while the vast majority remain mired in poverty. Both nations have Catholic presidents.

If Angolan President Eduardo dos Santos sensed any criticism in the pope’s remarks, he did not show it.

At the airport Mr dos Santos said Angola was thankful for “the love we always get from the Vatican, which provides us strength and helps us promote democracy and justice.”

“We are very happy we had this opportunity to welcome you to our country and we are very grateful for all the advice that you have given to our people,” he said.

All during his journey the pope held out Christianity’s message as a way to inspire hope in the region’s desperately poor people. But his rejection of the use of condoms to help Africa fight the Aids epidemic provoked a storm of criticism.

But his flock in Africa, the continent suffering most from the disease, greeted the pope with joy and love, turning out in the hundreds of thousands. Even clerics and ordinary people who believe that condoms must be used to save lives went to see him.

During his public appearances, which included an outdoor Mass attended by a million Angolans, the pope suggested that Christianity could help Africans break through the “clouds of evil” over countries riven by war, tribalism and ethnic rivalry.

“(The church can help Africans) transform this continent, freeing the people from the whip of greed, violence and disorder” to help bring modern democracy, he said.