On his ongoing tour of Africa, Pope Leo XIV renewed a strong denunciation of war and exploitation while visiting Cameroon, calling repeatedly for reconciliation and dialogue in a region long scarred by violence.
Speaking Thursday at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda — greeted by crowds lining the streets — the pontiff accused a “handful of tyrants” of spending vast sums to “ravage” the world through both economic plunder and armed conflict. His remarks come amid public pushback from U.S. President Donald Trump over the pope’s broader antiwar comments and his statements about a possible conflict with Iran.
Presiding over a peace forum attended by a Mankon tribal chief, a Presbyterian moderator, a Muslim imam and a Catholic nun, Leo invoked Scripture: “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and warned, “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.” He described the present moment as “a world turned upside down,” an assault on God’s creation that should provoke every honest conscience to protest.
The pope also blamed resource extraction for fuelling violence, saying those who strip land of its wealth often channel profits into weapons, perpetuating “an endless cycle of destabilization and death.” His comments are likely to strike a chord in Washington, where some voices in the Pentagon — including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth — have framed certain operations in the Middle East in explicitly religious terms.
Bamenda sits at the center of a long-running clash between government forces and English-speaking separatists. Cameroon, divided between Britain and France after World War I, is rich in oil, natural gas, bauxite, cobalt, iron ore, gold and diamonds. In 1961, English-speaking areas voted to join French Cameroon but have since complained of political and economic marginalization. The country’s two Anglophone regions have seen intense violence as some groups press to break away from the largely Francophone state.
The current crisis escalated after the 2016 violent crackdown on peaceful English-speaking protests under President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982. Since then, more than 6,000 civilians have been killed and over 600,000 people displaced; kidnapping and extortion are widespread.
Archbishop of Bamenda Andrew Nkea Fuanya told the pope that the local population has suffered for a conflict they did not create, saying, “Most Holy Father, today your feet are standing on the soil of Bamenda that has drunk the blood of many of our children.”
Edited by: Wesley Dockery