Bamenda
Pope Leo warned that the world is being ravaged by “tyrants,” in forceful feedback made after US President Donald Trump attacked the pontiff for his stance on the battle with Iran.
Leo has emerged as sturdy critic of the battle and his speech once more preached a message of peace and rebuked leaders utilizing non secular language to justify battle.
“The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters,” Leo stated in a speech throughout a go to to Cameroon’s largest metropolis, Bamenda, on Thursday.
The pope arrived in Cameroon’s capital of Yaounde on Wednesday, the newest cease on a four-country tour of Africa. On arrival he urged the nation’s authorities to root out corruption amid battle there which erupted between authorities forces and Anglophone separatist teams.
The pope traveled to Bamenda Thursday the place he was greeted by 1000’s as he arrived in the popemobile with many waving “peace branches.” Among the crowd was Jamconfidence Masha, who works as a garments maker in Bamenda – her store was destroyed throughout the battle. She stated the pope was bringing a message of “love, hope and unity.”
The selection of location is important: Bamenda is the epicenter of a bloody civil battle that has resulted in extra 65,000 lifeless and over half 1,000,000 displaced.
The pope heard a collection of testimonies from these caught up in the disaster embody some nuns who had been kidnapped.
In footage: Pope Leo’s journey to Africa
Also throughout the speech, the pope condemned those that “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.”
On the exploitation of African assets, the pope was additionally sturdy in his selection of phrases. “Those who rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of destabilization and death,” he stated.
“It is a world turned upside down, an exploitation of God’s creation that must be denounced and rejected by every honest conscience.”
Trump started his attacks on Leo on Sunday night, denouncing his stance on the Iran war and saying he’s “terrible for foreign policy.”
“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon. … He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world,” Trump advised reporters, including, “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.”
Leo later responded aboard his flight Monday, saying, “The things I say are not meant as attacks on anyone,” however added, “I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel.”