VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis asked people to never forget the Rwandan genocide which killed more than 800,000 people almost 30 years ago.
"Ah that genocide! It was terrible, terrible," the pope told members of an Italian nonprofit that supports an orphanage in Rwanda. "It must never be forgotten, so as to not relapse."
The nonprofit, called "Nolite Timere" – Latin for "Do not be afraid" – organizes remote adoptions for some 400 orphans at a facility outside the Rwandan capital, Kigali, in the place where St. John Paul II celebrated Mass during his 1990 visit to the country. Its website says the organization works to ensure that each child is supported "not only economically, but also morally and spiritually."
Meeting members Jan. 27, Pope Francis said their work "reminds us, in a world where more and more walls and divisions between people and populations seem to multiply, that charity has no barrier."
The pope praised their 25 years of work with Rwandan children motivated "by the common desire to give them back a smile and hope for the future."
"Let us remember, war and weapons take away the smile and the future of children, and this is tragic," he said.
Some 95,000 children were orphaned during the 1994 genocide, according to the United Nations.
Pope Francis said the organization's work promotes solidarity by creating a "network of affection that extends beyond momentary circumstances, transcending differences in age, nationality, culture and social status."
The group demonstrates how being a volunteer "is much more than providing a service or making a financial contribution," he said. "It is a choice that makes us open to the needs of others" with "hands, with eyes, with attentive ears, with closeness."
The pope prayed "for an end to violence and conflict in the world, due to which still, sadly, many children continue to suffer, to be exploited and die," and ended his speech by quoting St. Paul VI's 1965 address to the United Nations: "No more war!"
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