‘Hands off Africa,’ Pope Francis tells rich world
PHILIP PULLELLA and PAUL LORGERIE POPE Francis denounced the "poison of greed" driving conflicts in Africa as he began a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying the rich world had to realise that people were more precious than the minerals in the earth beneath them. Many tens of thousands of people cheered as he travelled from the airport into the capital Kinshasa in his popemobile, with some breaking away to chase it while others chanted and waved flags. But the joyous mood, one of the most vibrant welcomes of his foreign trips, turned sombre when the 86-year-old pope…