Pope Leo has criticized leaders who spend billions on wars and said the world was 'being ravaged by a handful of tyrants' in unusually forceful comments during a visit to Cameroon. The pontiff blasted those he said had manipulated 'the very name of God' for their own gain, while touring a region ravaged by a deadly insurgency. 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-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.
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'. '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 said.
The Pope also condemned 'an endless cycle of destabilisation and death' in a 'bloodstained' region of Cameroon that has been gripped by insurgency for nearly a decade. 'Those who rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of destabilisation and death,' he told those gathered at a cathedral in the north-western city of Bamenda, which has been the center of the violence that has left at least 6,000 people dead and displaced many more.
Following Leo's address, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, said that she stood with the Pope in his 'courageous call for a kingdom of peace'. The war in Iran has increasingly placed the Pope and the Trump administration at odds. Following Trump's attack on the Pope, which described the leader of the Catholic Church as 'WEAK on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy', the Pope reiterated his commitment to advocating for peace. 'The Pope can say what he wants,' Trump stated, emphasizing that it's vital to understand the Iranian threat.
The Pope's Africa tour, which is significant given the demographic importance of Catholicism in the continent, includes visits to 11 cities across four countries, highlighting the Pope's commitment to global peace efforts.
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.
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'. '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 said.
The Pope also condemned 'an endless cycle of destabilisation and death' in a 'bloodstained' region of Cameroon that has been gripped by insurgency for nearly a decade. 'Those who rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of destabilisation and death,' he told those gathered at a cathedral in the north-western city of Bamenda, which has been the center of the violence that has left at least 6,000 people dead and displaced many more.
Following Leo's address, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, said that she stood with the Pope in his 'courageous call for a kingdom of peace'. The war in Iran has increasingly placed the Pope and the Trump administration at odds. Following Trump's attack on the Pope, which described the leader of the Catholic Church as 'WEAK on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy', the Pope reiterated his commitment to advocating for peace. 'The Pope can say what he wants,' Trump stated, emphasizing that it's vital to understand the Iranian threat.
The Pope's Africa tour, which is significant given the demographic importance of Catholicism in the continent, includes visits to 11 cities across four countries, highlighting the Pope's commitment to global peace efforts.
