Pope: no fears about trip to war-torn African countries (Crux)

Pope Francis said that he is not worried about his personal safety as he prepares for a trip to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo: two nations torn by violence.

In a new Spanish-language interview, the Pope said that he is anxiously looking forward to the trip, which is scheduled for January 31 to February 5. The voyage had originally been scheduled for July 2022, but was postponed because of the Pope’s pap problems.

One stop on this month’s trip has been removed from the papal itinerary. A trip to the city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been scrapped because of a surge in fighting in that region. The Pope explained: “Nothing will happen to me, but with an atmosphere like that and seeing what they’re doing, they throw a bomb into the stadium and kill a lot of people.”