Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has led a special prayer service in St. Peter's Basilica for peace in South Sudan and Congo.
Earlier this year he said he was studying the possibility of going to South Sudan, the African nation suffering from famine and civil war. But he told faithful Thursday evening that wasn't possible.
Francis said that, "with prayer we want to sow seeds of peace" in South Sudan and Congo. He called for courageous peace efforts through dialogue and negotiations.
Peace talks are aimed at finding a resolution to South Sudan's nearly four-year-old civil war.
In Congo, tensions over the continued tenure of President Joseph Kabila, whose official mandate ended in December 2016, have fueled deadly demonstrations. An election official recently said the presidential vote wouldn't be held until late 2018.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
