Pope Francis pleads with Central African Republic factions to seek peace

Flanked by Vatican bodyguards in flak jackets and machine-gun-toting UN peacekeepers, Pope Francis plunged Sunday into conflict-wracked Central African Republic and urged the country’s Christian and Muslim factions to lay down their weapons and instead arm themselves with peace and forgiveness.

Francis issued the appeal from the altar of Bangui’s cathedral after arriving in the badly-divided capital on the final leg of his three-nation African tour.