Pope Leo XIV to Cameroon faithfully – ‘reject violence’

Pope Leo XIV, preaching to a cheering crowd of more than 120,000 attendees at a Friday open-air mass in Cameroon port city of Douala, continues its strong message of peace on the second leg of his current 11-day tour of Africa.

the US-born pontiff urges those who have traveled far and wide to listen to him: “Do not give in to distrust and discouragement. Reject all forms of abuse or violence, which deceives easy profit but hardens the heart and makes it insensitive.”

In his Friday homily, delivered in French, Leo urges Cameroonians to become “protagonists of the future.”

Leo has been thrust into the headlines lately with attacks on the US President Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance — that both were publicly beaten on the head by Roman Catholic Church after Leo condemned the folly of war and those who sought to misuse god to justify violence.

On Friday, as congregants waved Vatican flags and “branches of peace,” Leo spoke about conflict and greed in Africa, where he said people are “hungry for peace, freedom and justice.”

Leo is scheduled to visit a Catholic hospital in Douala Friday afternoon, before returning to the capital Yaounde to address university students and professors.

Pope Leo condemned the plundering of African resources and the abuse of power

Cameroon, rich in mineral wealth, has long attracted foreign companies and the region’s elite. On Thursday, Leo criticized “those who, in the name of profit, continue to lay their hands on the African continent to exploit and steal it.”

He also urged Cameroon’s leaders to eradicate corruption as well as abuses committed in the name of maintaining civil order in statements delivered on Wednesday.

Those words are especially remarkable because they were expressed 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 used with respect for human rights,” the pope told government officials.

Biya’s forces were brutally subdued demonstration against his reelection in October, killing dozens.

Pope Leo helps young Catholics in Africa

Africa continues to grow in importance to the Roman Catholic Church, with an estimated 290 million Catholics on the continent now making up 20.3% of the Church’s 1.4 billion members.

In Cameroon, Leo’s words of encouragement are aimed at youth of the countrywhich faces mass unemployment as the country struggles with internal conflict and entrenched power.

Earlier this week, for example, Leo led an interfaith peace conference in the town of Bamenda – the epicenter of a nearly decade-long separatist uprising that has killed thousands.

One of the biggest critics of President Biya within the Catholic clergy in Cameroon, Archbishop of Douala Samuel Kleda, expressed the hope that Leo’s visit could help solve some of the country’s problems.

“Our country has gone through many crises; some crises are still ongoing. The fruit we should get from this visit is to commit ourselves as architects of peace,” said Archbishop Kleda.

Leo will conclude his visit to Cameroon with mass on Saturday morning.

After visiting Muslim-majority Algeria, then Cameroon, the pontiff will travel to Angola and then Equatorial Guinea before returning to Rome.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery