内容摘要：to countries other than their own. It has sent hundreds of Venezuelans and others to Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama but has yet to announce any major deals with governments in Africa, Asia or Europe.

to countries other than their own. It has sent hundreds of Venezuelans and others to Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama but has yet to announce any major deals with governments in Africa, Asia or Europe.

for his engagement with the continent’s crises, many Catholics simply want a pope who will be a faithful leader for everyone.“For us, it does not matter whether he is African, white, or Black. What matters is having a good, holy pope who can unite Catholics across the world,” said Luka Lawrence Ndenge, an emergency officer with the Catholic charity Caritas in the remote town of Wau in South Sudan.

The father of two said he believes an African can rise to the papacy, especially as “we already have African cardinals who are fully capable.”Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin, primate of Adigrat in the Ethiopian region of Tigray, said he hopes the next pope will be as compassionate as Francis, who repeatedly called attention to war in Tigray in 2021 and 2022.But the prospect of having a Black African pope is exciting, he said.

“For me, having a passionate, dedicated and competent African leading the Catholic Church is very important to me as an African and to see it in my lifetime is my absolute wish,” he said.Emily Mwaka doesn’t like speculating about the next pope, especially on the color of his skin. So when the head of the Catholic laity in Kampala, Uganda, recently came upon a small group of Christians discussing a newspaper article about possible papal contenders — including some from Africa — she asked them to stop it.

Even if the next pontiff is “green,” she said, he “will be for all of us.”

Associated Press reporters Samuel Getachew in Tigray, Ethiopia, and Michael Atit in Wau, South Sudan, contributed to this report.Rwanda has argued that despite being one of Africa’s most densely populated countries, it has space to help alleviate what many countries in Europe – and the United States – consider to be a

with unwanted migrants.Rwanda’s foreign minister confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that

about a potential agreement to host deported migrants, after telling state media the talks were in the “early stage.” Olivier Nduhungirehe did not give details but said it was consistent with Rwanda’s long-standing commitment to the pursuit of migration solutions.The U.S. State Department declined to comment on a potential deal, but said engagement with foreign governments is an important part of the U.S. government’s policy to deter illegal migration.