Pope, in Cameroon, calls for ‘decisive change of course’ that leads away from conflict and the exploitation of the land.Published On 16 Apr 202616 Apr 2026Pope Leo XIV has blasted the “handful of tyrants” who are ravaging Earth with war and exploitation, as he preached a message of peace in the epicentre of a separatist conflict considered one of the world’s most neglected crises.Leo, on a four-country trip to Africa, travelled to the western Cameroon city of Bamenda, where jubilant crowds clogged the roads, blowing horns and dancing to welcome him on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThey were overjoyed that a pope had come so far to see them and put a global spotlight on the violence that has traumatised this region for nearly a decade.Leo presided over a peace meeting involving a Mankon traditional chief, a Presbyterian moderator, an imam and a Catholic nun. The aim was to highlight the interfaith movement that has been seeking to end the conflict and care for its many victims.In his remarks in the St Joseph Cathedral, on land donated by the Mankon, Leo praised the peace movement and warned against allowing religion to enter conflicts.It is a theme he has been echoing amid the United States-Israeli war in Iran and the religious justifications for it by US officials.“Blessed are the peacemakers!” he said. “But 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 called for a “decisive change of course” that leads away from conflict and the exploitation of the land and its people for military or economic …
