A senior African bishop has called on Pope Francis to address the “death traps of radicalisation” when he makes his first papal visit to the continent in November.
The Bishop of Kitui, in Kenya, who spoke out in April after 147 people were killed by terrorists at Garissa University College, said that the “targeting of Christians by terrorists is in the back of everyone’s minds”.
“The issue of radicalisation and targeting of Christians by terrorists is in the back of the mind of everyone,” Bishop Anthony Muheria told The Tablet.
“The care of the young people is central, and we would welcome his ideas and challenges especially to the youth who are too easily swayed into ‘death traps’ of radicalisation.”
On April 2 this year, gunmen from an Islamic militant group called Al-Shabaab, which is based in neighbouring Somalia, stormed the campus of Garissa University College and separated Christian students from their Muslim classmates. The terrorists killed 147 people during a 15-hour siege before Kenyan authorities regained control.
“In view of the many suffering families from the attacks, his message of mercy and forgiveness, and ways of sustaining meaningful dialogue with other religions would assist us a lot,” Bishop Muheria said.
Pope Francis’s itinerary for his visit to Africa will be announced by The Vatican next month, but is reported to be centred around three capital cities: Nairobi, in Kenya, Kampala, in Uganda, and Bangui, in Central African Republic.
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