NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Pope Francis told Christian and Muslim leaders in Kenya on Thursday that they have little choice but to engage in dialogue to guard against the “barbarous” Islamic extremist attacks that have struck Kenya recently, saying religious leaders must be “prophets of peace” in a world sown by hatred.
On his first full day in Africa, Francis insisted that religion can never be used to justify violence and lamented that “all too often, young people are being radicalized in the name of religion to sow discord and fear, and to tear at the very fabric of our societies.”
He said interfaith dialogue isn’t a luxury or optional, but is simply “essential.”
Francis made the comments in a meeting with Kenyan Christian, Muslim and other faith leaders at the start of a busy day that will also see him celebrate Mass on a rain-soaked university campus and deliver a major environment speech to the U.N. regional headquarters in Nairobi. On Friday, he heads to Uganda for the second leg of his first African pilgrimage.
Kenya, a former British colony is majority Christian, but Muslims represent about 10 percent of the population.