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And we're pleased to welcome Father Fred Wikesa

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rector of the Basilica of St. Augustine that's in
the northeastern port city of Anaba in Algeria

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Thank you for being with us here on France
24. Thank you so much for hosting me also

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The Basilica of St. Augustine, we should
remind our viewers that St. Augustine

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the fourth-century theologian who's so important
in the Catholic Church, of course, was Algerian

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Exactly, yeah. The basilica now, as it is, it
was built from 1881 to 1900, and one of the

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objectives was to honor St. Augustine, because
during that time, in the late 19th century

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we had only the ruins. And in the ruins, it was
discovered that the Basilica of Peace exists

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where Augustine worked as a bishop and died and
was buried, even though his body was taken to

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Italy and is in Pavia now. But at least the new
church was built in honor of him and also to have

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a place of worship for the current community. And the
last reason is at least to have a place like a carafour

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a place of meeting whereby the tourists, the pilgrims, can be able
to come and visit, discover about the riches of St. Augustine

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and also know more about his spirituality.
Indeed, it is very, very important here in Algeria

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in terms of building bridges to live
in peace. Yeah, building bridges

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Again, seeing those live images, you're watching them with
us there from Notre Dame de l'Afrique Cathedral in Algiers

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Explain it again for our audiences The Pope visiting a country
where Catholics make up just a tiny fraction of the population

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Yes, exactly. We are very few. But being
few does not mean that we are insignificant

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In fact, His Holiness Pope, Leo XIV, coming
to visit us, It is an encouragement to us

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It has even renewed us spiritually to
value also that we belong to the church

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the church that cares because the messenger
of peace in the name of Pope Leo XIV

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is coming to visit us. So he's coming
really encourages us as a small community

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But then his reason to come is not only for us, the minority
Christians, but it's coming for the people of Algeria also

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Because remember, it is in connection with St. Augustine. Because St. Augustine was born
some 90 kilometers from here in a place called Tagaste, which is in the willy of Sukaras

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But here where we are, he worked
as a bishop and died here

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it was hippo, but now it's
another. Then, this brings in the

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importance of his visit, is really to
bring us the message of peace, and also

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as he said, the Pope said when he was coming
back from Lebanon, that he would want to

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advance the message of peace.
Therefore, he's coming also to bring us

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the message of peace, as the
theme says, Peace be with you

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That is the theme of this visit here. And also
to make us, like we already live in peace

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but to encourage us and to do more about having a religious
dialogue, dialoguing between Muslims and Christians

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And Christians Father Rukesa let me ask you about this because
for our viewers there a context there a backdrop there a history

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People who are in Algeria remember the so-called blood years when there
was a civil war and most notably the slaughter of the monks of Tiberine

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Is that something you thought about this morning
when you woke up and you looked at the Pope's agenda

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for the day, visiting the Grand Mosque, that
ecumenical gestures surrounding this visit

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Yes, yeah, for sure. There are two ways in
which now we can be able to see Algeria

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And I thank God for this opportunity
where the Holy Father is coming to visit

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One is that before I came here and other people who
have the temptation to see Algeria in terms of 1990s

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I can tell them that, sorry, things have
changed. Because it has been witnessed

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I've been here 10 years in Algeria. And then we can see
the welcome that was accorded to His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV

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And then there is a kind of tolerance that exists
here. That's why we are up to where we are

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Therefore, the Pope's coming is coming to enhance this interreligious dialogue. but for
me, I take it further also, that we should not only concentrate on the religion to dialogue

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but also let us have this dialogue in our families. Because St.
Augustine tells us that for you to have peace, what does it mean

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It means the tranquility of the
order. Yeah, tranquility of the order

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such that when things are in order, when justice is done, when equality reigns therefore we shall have
peace What does this Augustine mean It means that we cannot find a hand on the head or the head walking

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Like, things find them in their right place to rest there.
Therefore, Pope Scamming is bringing this message of peace

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and to advance more on this interreligious
dialogue. And just very briefly on this, sir

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When things are not good. Just very briefly on this, he's getting
a warm welcome, as both our correspondent and you have said

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In Algeria, the first American pope getting an earful from
the current U.S. president who called him, quote, terrible

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We're seeing in the last minutes among those defending the pope is
the Italian prime minister calling Donald Trump's remarks unacceptable

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saying it's right and normal for him to
call for peace and condemn all forms of war

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Your thoughts on this spat that's arisen
between Pope Leo and Donald Trump

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Yeah, what I can say is that the president, Donald
Trump, maybe does not understand the agenda of peace

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Yeah, because for Pope Leo, what he's saying
is that let us use, like Augustine suggested

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when there is a problem. And of course, when
we live in peace, there will be some problems

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But how can we be able to resolve these problems
is through employing the method of dialogue

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Even for Augustine, when there was a lot of divisions in
the church, the Donatists, the Pelagians, the Manichaeans

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he dialogued with them to bring them back.
Therefore, the Pope is proposing a peaceful

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a better, the best way is to dialogue rather
than to resolve in using force and violence

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Violence cannot resolve anything. So it
is in the sense that he has misunderstood

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He's misunderstood. Father Fred Wukesas,
thank you so much for joining us

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from Naba in Algeria