The advice by Catholic Pontiff is coming against the backdrop of deepening divisions among the political elites over the delayed presidential election.
President JOSEPH KABILA has been defiant against the constitutional provision to vacate office at the end of his two-year term in December.
President KABILA has since secured a deal with a small fraction of the opposition to continue in office until 2018 under an interim government, with elections shifted until April, 2018.
In his statement, Pope FRANCIS called for tolerance, stressing that every initiative for building bridges rather than walls between the political divide should be encouraged.
