Pope Francis visits mosque in violence-torn Central African Republic

On Monday, Pope Francis ended a three-nation African tour with a stop in Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, in his first visit to a conflict zone. Before saying mass in a Bangui's sports stadium, the pope visited the besieged, once-vibrant Muslim neighborhood PK5 and met with the imam and 200 other men in the city's main mosque. Christian militias surround PK5, preventing the remnants of Bangui's Muslim population from leaving the neighborhood, and Pope Francis was under heavy guard as he traveled to the mosque in an open-air makeshift "popemobile."

Central African Republic has been split along religious lines since Muslim rebels toppled the Christian president in 2013, and Muslim militias followed, committing atrocities against Christians. Christian militias formed and savaged Muslim civilians starting in 2014, when the Muslim leaders were driven from power. Pope Francis reminded both sides that sectarian violence is something new in the country and that the conflict is really about power, not religion. "Christians and Muslims and members of traditional religions have lived peacefully for many years," the pope said at the mosque. "Together, we say no to hatred, to vengeance and violence, especially that committed in the name of a religion or God."

The chief imam, Tidiani Moussa Naibi, thanked the pope for his visit, calling it "a symbol which we all understand." Before the violence drove most of Central Africa Republic's Muslims away, the country was about 37 percent Catholic, 15, percent Muslim, 13 percent Protestant, and 35 percent practicing indigenous faiths. Pope Francis also preached peace during his visit to Uganda and Kenya, urging an audience of young people in Nairobi to stand up to divisive tribalism. He returns to Rome on Monday.

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