Catholic leaders in the Central African Republic said Christian-Muslim ties were positively affected by Pope Francis during his visit on Nov. 29-30, 2015. “No guns or grenades sounded during the visit—and while some unfortunate incidents occurred afterward, there was no resort to open violence,” said Msgr. Cyriaque Gbate Doumalo, secretary general of the nation’s bishops’ conference. “The pope came with a simple message that Christians and Muslims can fraternally live together in peace and harmony, despite what’s happened here. I think this has touched the Muslim community and given us a real chance.” He said the bishops’ conference president, Archbishop Dieudonne Nzapalainga of Bangui, had been well received on Dec. 9 when he and three priests walked through the mostly Muslim neighborhood known as PK5 to “check the situation” and encourage Christian-Muslim ties. “Access to PK5 has long been blocked, but since the Holy Father’s departure, people have been coming and going freely again,” Monsignor Doumalo said on Dec. 11.

This article appears in January 4-11 2016.