Pope Leo has criticized leaders who spend billions on wars and said the world is 'being ravaged by a handful of tyrants,' in unusually forceful comments during his visit to Cameroon. Speaking during a tour of a region ravaged by a deadly insurgency, the Pontiff blasted those he said manipulated 'the very name of God' for their own gain.
The remarks come just days after a high profile spat with US President Donald Trump who posted a lengthy attack on the Pope, a vocal critic of the US and Israeli military operation in Iran. The Pope had voiced his concern about Trump's threat that 'a whole civilisation will die' if Iran did not agree to US demands to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz.
Leo, who last year became the first US-born pope, has previously also questioned the Trump administration's approach to immigration. Leo should get his act together as Pope, Trump wrote in a TruthSocial post at the time.
Speaking in Cameroon, the Pope criticized leaders who 'turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.'
'Yesterday at the cathedral in Bamenda, he stated that the masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild.' He condemned 'an endless cycle of destabilisation and death' in a 'bloodstained' region that has been gripped by insurgency for nearly a decade.
He emphasized that 'those who rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons,' perpetuating this cycle.
Pope Leo's extensive Africa tour includes stops in 11 cities across four countries, marking his second major foreign visit since becoming pope. This visit underscores the significance of Catholicism in Africa, where over a fifth of the world's Catholics reside, totaling approximately 288 million people as of 2024.
The remarks come just days after a high profile spat with US President Donald Trump who posted a lengthy attack on the Pope, a vocal critic of the US and Israeli military operation in Iran. The Pope had voiced his concern about Trump's threat that 'a whole civilisation will die' if Iran did not agree to US demands to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz.
Leo, who last year became the first US-born pope, has previously also questioned the Trump administration's approach to immigration. Leo should get his act together as Pope, Trump wrote in a TruthSocial post at the time.
Speaking in Cameroon, the Pope criticized leaders who 'turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.'
'Yesterday at the cathedral in Bamenda, he stated that the masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild.' He condemned 'an endless cycle of destabilisation and death' in a 'bloodstained' region that has been gripped by insurgency for nearly a decade.
He emphasized that 'those who rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons,' perpetuating this cycle.
Pope Leo's extensive Africa tour includes stops in 11 cities across four countries, marking his second major foreign visit since becoming pope. This visit underscores the significance of Catholicism in Africa, where over a fifth of the world's Catholics reside, totaling approximately 288 million people as of 2024.
