Pope Leo
The American-born Pope urged those who traveled far and wide to hear him: “Do not be distrustful and discouraged. Reject any form of abuse or violence, which deceives with easy gain but hardens the heart and makes it insensitive.”
In his Friday sermon, delivered in French, Leo urged Cameroonians to become “heroes of the future.”
Leo has recently been thrust into the spotlight by attacks from US President Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance – both of whom have publicly attacked the head of the Roman Catholic Church after Leo condemned those who misuse God to justify the foolishness of war and violence.
On Friday, as congregants waved Vatican flags and “branches of peace,” Leo spoke of conflict and greed in Africa, where he said people are “hungry for peace, freedom and justice.”
Leo was scheduled to visit a Catholic hospital in Douala on Friday afternoon, before returning to the capital Yaoundé to address university students and professors.
Pope Leo condemns plunder of African resources and abuse of power
Mineral-rich Cameroon has long attracted foreign companies and regional elites. On Thursday, Leo criticized “those who continue to lay their hands on the African continent to exploit and plunder it in the name of profit.”
In a speech on Wednesday, he urged Cameroon’s leaders to root out corruption as well as abuses in the name of maintaining civil order.
Those words were especially powerful because they were said in the presence of President Paul Biya – a 93-year-old politician who has ruled Cameroon with an iron fist since 1982.
“Security is a priority, but it must always be exercised with respect for human rights,” the Pope told government officials.
Biya’s army violently repressed Protest against his re-election Last October, dozens of people were killed.
Pope Leo reaches out to young African Catholics
Africa is becoming increasingly important to the Roman Catholic Church, with the estimated 290 million Catholics on the continent now making up 20.3% of the Church’s 1.4 billion membership.
In Cameroon, Leo’s words of encouragement were directed at the country’s youth, who are facing mass unemployment as the country grapples with internal conflict and strongman power.
For example, earlier this week, Leo led an interfaith peace conference in the city of Bamenda – the epicenter of a nearly decade-long separatist insurgency that has left thousands dead.
Archbishop Samuel Cleda of Douala, one of President Biya’s biggest critics among Cameroon’s Catholic clergy, expressed hope that Leo’s visit could help solve some of the country’s problems.
Archbishop Cleda said, “Our country has gone through many crises; some crises are still ongoing. The fruit we must derive from this journey is to commit ourselves as architects of peace.”
Leo will conclude his visit to Cameroon with mass prayer on Saturday morning.
After visiting Muslim-majority Algeria, then Cameroon, the Pope will travel to Angola and then Equatorial Guinea before returning to Rome.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery