Pope Leo calls on Cameroonians to reject violence and corruption, addressing 120,000 faithful amid the country’s security and political challenges.
DOUALA (Cameroon): Large crowds gathered outside a stadium in Douala, Cameroon’s biggest city and economic hub, for a Mass with Pope Leoon Friday that was billed as the biggest event of the pontiff’s four-nation Africa tour.
The Vatican, citing local authorities, estimated that 120,000 people had headed towards Japoma Stadium to be part of the celebration and hear an address from the pope, who has become outspoken on war and inequality and drawn the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Amid a heavy security presence, some Cameroonians made their way to the stadium on Thursday, sleeping there overnight so they could witness Leo speak in person.
“It was difficult – the cold, the mosquitoes and everything,” said one participant, Kevin Kaegam.
“But since we want to see the supreme pontiff, we had no choice.”
Leo, the first U.S. pope, has debuted a new, forceful speaking style on his Africa tour. Speaking in Cameroon on Thursday, he said the world was “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants”, without naming anybody.
REJECT VIOLENCE, LEO SAYS
After arriving in Douala by plane from Yaounde, Leo said on Friday that many in Cameroon experience “material and spiritual poverty” but called on believers to reject violence as a means to get ahead, regardless of the hardships they face.
“Do not give in to distrust and discouragement,” the pope urged, in an appeal made in English during a speech that was otherwise mostly in French.
“Reject every form of abuse or violence, which deceives by promising easy gains but hardens the heart and makes it insensitive.”
Invoking the miracle of the loaves and fishes recounted in the Gospels, in which Jesus fed thousands with meagre resources, Leo said: “There is bread for everyone if it is given to everyone. There is bread for everyone if it is taken, not with a hand that snatches away, but with a hand that gives.”
Leo was also due to visit a Catholic hospital during his four-hour stay in Douala before returning to Yaounde.
‘MOMENT OF JOY’ FOR CAMEROON’S CATHOLICS
Now halfway through his ambitious, 10-day tour across Africa, the pontiff has this week decried violations of international law by “neocolonial” world powers and said “the whims of the rich and powerful” threaten peace.
Cameroon, a producer of oil and cocoa, faces grave security challenges, including a simmering Anglophone conflict in which thousands of people have been killed since 2017.
The country has been led for more than four decades by President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state at 93. His re-election last October sparked protests by opponents who say most ordinary Cameroonians have little to show for his rule.
Security forces killed 48 civilians during those protests, U.N. sources told Reuters in November, nearly half of them in the Littoral region which includes Douala.
In a strong speech in the presence of Biya on Wednesday, Leo called on Cameroon’s political leaders to break “the chains of corruption” in the country.
Crowds greeting the pope on his visit to Cameroon have been enthusiastic, lining the streets along his routes and wearing colourful fabrics featuring images of his face.
Bishop Leopold Bayemi Matjei called Leo’s visit “a moment of great joy” and said he hoped it meant God would bless Cameroon.
“Our country needs a lot of blessing, a powerful blessing, so that hope will come to rise again,” said the bishop, who leads the Church in Obala, about an hour north of Yaounde.
