It was supposed to be the first trip of his Pontificate, as Pope Leo explicitly said during the flight that took him to Algeria. In the footsteps of Saint Augustinewhere he had already been as a religious twice, in 2001 and 2013, and in a country with a Muslim majority, but where Christianity has deep roots. Prevost begins his apostolic visit in the wake of US President Trump’s vulgar and violent insults. But immediately, speaking to journalists during the journey to Algiers, he made things clear: «I don’t think that the message of the Gospel should be abused as some are doing. I continue to speak out loudly against war, trying to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateralism with states to seek solutions to problems. Too many people are suffering today, too many innocent people have been killed and I think someone needs to stand up and say there is a better way.” And again in reiterating that “I am not afraid of the Trump administration and I am not looking for a debate with him”, he underlined that his message is «always the same: peace. I say this for all the leaders of the world, not just him: let us try to end wars and promote peace and reconciliation. We are not politicians, we do not look at foreign policy with the same perspective. But we believe in the message of the Gospel as builders of peace.”
AND Building peace is the underlying objective of his trip to Africa which will run until April 23rd. «I am very happy to visit the land of Sant’Agostino again which offers a very important bridge in interreligious dialogue”, he underlined. «a blessing for me personally and also for the Church and for the world. Because we must always look for bridges to build peace and reconciliation.” And therefore the trip “really represents a very important opportunity to continue with the same voice, with the same message, that we want to promote peace and reconciliation and respect and consideration for all peoples”.
A peace that is built around justice and forgiveness, he immediately made clear in his first speech. In front of the monument of the martyrs Maqam Echahidwhich commemorates those killed in the 1962 war of independence from French colonialism, Prevost recalls that God desires peace for every nation: a peace that is not just the absence of conflict, but an expression of justice and dignity” Echoing the words of Cardinal Vesco, who had used the word forgive in his initial greeting, he adds that «this peace, which allows us to face the future with a reconciled soul, is only possible in forgiveness. I know how difficult it is to forgive, however, as conflicts continue to multiply around the world, you cannot add resentment to resentment, from generation to generation.” A difficult discussion in a country where amnesty was promised for the black decade (between the 1980s and 1990s) which led to the killing of millions of people. Muslims, but also the 19 martyrs of Algeria beatified in 2018 by Pope Francis, who “mixed their blood with their Algerian brothers”. And who are still waiting for truth and justice.
A first speech that the Pope chooses to conclude with the Sermon on the Mount and with that “blessed are the meek” which he also takes up in the meeting with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps. Speaking of the Algerian people, Leone recalled that they are a “people never defeated by their trials because they are rooted in that sense of solidarityof hospitality and community which is woven into the lives of millions of humble and just people. They are the strong ones”, says the Pontiff, they are the future: those who do not allow themselves to be blinded by power and wealth, those who do not sacrifice the dignity of their fellow citizens to their own personal or group fortune”.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, considered a moderate, had hailed him as a “defender of peace” and as one of the «strongest advocates of social justice as we see the economic gap between the North and South of the world and within the same countries grow». And, putting on the table “the tragedy of Gaza, the Palestinian cause, the suffering of the Gulf Region and the Middle East with Lebanon”, the president added: «We invoke with your voice justice for the Palestinian people» and “we demand the birth of a Palestinian state.”
Prevost, in this country between the desert and the sea, recalled how everyone, starting with Algeria, can contribute to the construction of the common good. In this regard, he also underlined that «the authorities are called not to dominate, but to serve the people and their development» And he also asked that the desert and the sea, «geographical and spiritual crossroads of enormous importance» not become «cemeteries where even hope dies».
Land and sea must be “places of life, of meeting, of wonder”. And then, the Pontiff urged, we must let our hearts be touched. «The Mediterranean, the Sahara and the immense sky above them whisper to us that reality surpasses us on all sides, that God is truly great and that we live everything in his mysterious presence». We must overcome temptations of fundamentalism and secularism so as not to lose this “authentic sense of God and the dignity of all his creatures”. Resist the temptation to make “religious symbols and words”, on the one hand, “blasphemous languages of violence and oppression», on the other side of trivialize them by making them “signs with no more meaning in the large market of consumption that does not satisfy”.
