(Adnkronos) – Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Monday sent best wishes to Pope Leo at thee start of his 11-day tour of four African countries, praising his “authoritative” call for an end to Sudan’s brutal three-year-old civil war.
“Best wishes to Pope Leo @Pontifex_it for his apostolic journey to Africa, Tajani wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“I greatly appreciated his call for peace in Sudan. His authoritative words further bolster the Italian government’s commitment (to the war-torn country) through humanitarian missions. These words represent an important contribution to achieving a ceasefire and the end of the civil war after three years of harsh conflict,” Tajani went on.
Leo heads to Algeria for two days on Monday before travelling on to Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea in an 11-day tour of 11 cities and towns. During his visit, the pontiff is expected to urge world leaders to tackle the needs of the contintent inhabited by over a fifth of the world’s Catholics.
During the whirlwind tour, Leo is predicted to address exploitation of natural resources, Catholic-Muslim dialogue, and dangers of political corruption, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told journalists ahead of the trip.
The first American pope has increasingly spoken out against the widening conflict in the Middle East sparked by the US-Israel attacks on Iran that began in February, saying God can’t be used to justify war: remarks that have drawn criticism from United States president Donald Trump.
Leo has previously made only one major overseas trip since his election last May, visiting Turkey and Lebanon in November and December. He also visited Monaco in March.
