Pope Francis appeals to the people of South Sudan to lay down their 'weapons of hatred' on the final day of his pilgrimage to a country blighted by violence and a refugee crisis
Large crowds of ecstatic worshippers streamed into the John Garang Mausoleum in the capital Juba on Sunday to see the 86-year-old pontiff.
"Let us lay down the weapons of hatred and revenge... Let us overcome the dislikes and aversions that over time have become chronic and risk pitting tribes and ethnic groups against one another," he said in his homily. The trip — Francis's fifth to Africa — was initially scheduled for 2022 but had to be postponed because of problems with the pope's knee.
He was among the many who stayed overnight to join the mass at the John Garang mausoleum — built in honour of South Sudan's rebel hero who was killed in a helicopter crash in 2005. With 2.2 million internally displaced people , and another two million outside the country, South Sudan is witness to the worst refugee crisis in Africa.
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