Extremist and criminal violence is on the rise across Northern Africa from Somalia to Nigeria as local security forces face off against gangs and insurgencies they are often ill-equipped to contain.

“If the women of South Sudan are given an opportunity to develop, to have space to be productive, South Sudan will be transformed.”

“Pope Francis’ message is really about a personal relationship with Jesus,” Kizito Kiyimba, S.J., to America’s Vatican correspondent. “His message remains after him.”

Ahead of upcoming general elections on Feb. 25 and March 11, Nigerian Catholics want their next national leaders to address the difficult political and socio-economic issues facing the country.

This week on ‘Inside the Vatican,’ Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Gerard O’Connell discuss Pope Francis’ six-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, which the pope called a pilgrimage of peace.

In his weekly general audience, Pope Francis reveals what he said on his apostolic journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, praying that “the seeds of God's Kingdom of love, justice and peace may germinate.”