Tour of Africa: the Pope asks the Cameroonian authorities to “examine their conscience” to combat corruption

The Pope spoke at the presidential palace and not at the airport. He recalled the civil war that broke out in 2017 between the Army and the independence insurgents Anglophones, who consider themselves marginalized from the country’s government by the Francophone central power.

The occasion allowed him to launch a new call for all wars to stop, “with its painful accumulations of deaths, destructions and exiles.”

Pope Prevost said that many NGOs accuse repression and human rights violations. He stressed that “transparency in the management of public resources and respect for the rule of law are essential to “restore trust.”

Cameroon is rich in natural resources such as oil, gas and minerals, but 26.7% of the population lives in povertyaccording to the World Bank, mainly due to government corruption and authoritarianism.

“It is time to dare to examine our conscience and make a brave qualitative leap.” “Just and credible institutions become pillars of stability and public authority is called to be a bridge, never a factor of division, even where insecurity seems to reign,” highlighted the American and Peruvian pontiff.

He added that although security is a priority “must always be exercised respecting human rights, uniting rigor and magnimity, with special attention to the most vulnerable.”

Cameroon has a high corruption index, which places it in 142nd place out of the 180 that make up the table prepared by Transparency International. Leo XIV recalled that the State must be “at the service of the people and especially the poorest” and that “a comprehensive conduct in life” is necessary.

The Pope defended the work of associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), many of which are blocked by President Biya’s government.

“Associations, women’s and youth organizations, unions, humanitarian NGOs, traditional leaders, “Everyone plays an irreplaceable role in the construction of social peace.”indicated the pontiff.

“They are the first to intervene when tensions arise, they are the ones who accompany the displaced, support the victims, open spaces for dialogue and promote local mediation,” he recalled. the Pope to the authorities present gathered in a small room of the presidential palace.

Leo XIV also thanked the role of women, “who unfortunately are the first victims of prejudice and violence and Even so, they continue to be tireless architects of peace.”

The Pope invited the country’s authorities to give women more weight in the transfer-taking processes, “because their commitment to education and the reconstruction of the social fabric is unmatched: c“It constitutes a stop to corruption and abuses of power.”

In Cameroon half of the population is Christian and 28% are Catholic. The Pope defined African religious traditions as “when they are not distorted by the poison of fundamentalisms, they inspire prophecies of peace, justice, forgiveness and solidarity.”

The Pope will travel tomorrow to Bamenda, capital of the Anglophone militias fighting in a civil war between separatists and the Cameroonian Army.

Leo XIV will lead a peace meeting. The separatists proclaimed yesterday three days of truce to “make the Pope’s trip safer.

The civil war shows no signs of a solution, although it has decreased in recent years. Talks with international mediators have stalled and both sides accuse each other of acting in bad faith.

The civil war has its roots in Cameroon’s colonial history, when the country was divided between France and Britain after the First World War. The English-speaking regions later joined French Cameroon and received the support of the United Nations in 1961. But separatists maintain they have been marginalized politically and economically.

With great expectation we await what the Pope will say tomorrow in Bamenda. The blessings he will give will be against violence and suffering and represent hope to reactivate dialogue.

On Friday the 17th, the pontiff will visit Douala, considered the commercial capital of the country, with its very rich port. León will celebrate mass at the Japoma Stadium where a large crowd is expected and in the afternoon he will meet the university world at the Catholic University of Central Africa.

The Pope will say goodbye to Cameroon on Saturday the 18th, with a mass at the Yaounde airport and two hours later he will arrive in Angola, the third stage of his apostolic journey. The fourth will be Equatorial Guinea and will return to Rome on Thursday the 23rd.