LUANDA, Angola — Pope Benedict XVI, welcomed to this sweltering capital Friday by the biggest crowds of his African pilgrimage, condemned sexual violence against women in Africa and chided those countries on the continent that have approved abortion.
Benedict arrived in Luanda on the second leg of his African tour, with tens of thousands pouring into the streets along his motorcade route.
“I have come to see our papa because he is good for the church and the church is good to us,” said Fatima de Castro, a 52-year-old housekeeper who traveled 14 hours through the night to welcome the pope outside Luanda’s airport.
Angolan President Eduardo dos Santos greeted Benedict, 81, as he descended from his chartered plane onto a red carpet under a tropical sun that reddened his face.
Benedict lamented what he called strains on the traditional African family.
“Particularly disturbing is the crushing yoke of discrimination that women and girls so often endure, not to mention the unspeakable practice of sexual violence and exploitation which causes such humiliation and trauma,” Benedict told an audience of government leaders and foreign diplomats in the late afternoon.
Angola more than 60 percent Catholic
Angola was lacerated by a civil war that started with its 1975 independence and ended in 2002. Its history as a former Portuguese colony has given it Christian roots. Today about 8.6 million people, or more than 60 percent of the population, are Catholic.
