With these words - pronounced immediately after the synthesis in Chinese of his catechesis - Pope Francis this morning, during the general audience held in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, wished the many peoples of Asia who today celebrate the Lunar New Year. The meeting with the pilgrims was also the occasion for an appeal by the Pontiff on the serious events taking place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the African country where the M23 militias - supported by the Rwandan army - have occupied the city of Goma and the North-Kivu province, rich in mineral resources, in recent hours.
I also follow with apprehension what is happening in the capital, Kinshasa, hoping that all forms of violence against people and their property will cease as soon as possible. While I pray for the prompt re-establishment of peace and security, I invite the local authorities and the international community to make every effort to resolve the conflict situation by peaceful means'.
Earlier in his catechesis, Pope Francis had continued the Jubilee cycle of reflections on Jesus Christ our hope, dwelling on the Gospel passage of the proclamation to Joseph Mt with a text he read only in part. He dreams of the miracle that God performs in Mary's life, and also the miracle that he performs in his own life: to assume a fatherhood capable of guarding, protecting and transmitting a material and spiritual inheritance'. Thus he enters into the grace of those who know how to live the divine promise with faith, hope and love'.
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