Buea, Cameroon. Pope Leo criticised leaders for spending billions on wars and said the world was being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” during forceful remarks on Thursday in Cameroon. The comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump again attacked the pontiff on social media.
Remarks in Cameroon’s anglophone region
Leo, the first U.S. pope, called for a “decisive change of course” during a meeting in the biggest city in Cameroon’s anglophone regions, where a simmering conflict lasting nearly a decade has left thousands dead.
“The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild,” he said.
“They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.”
Reaction to Trump’s criticism and Africa tour
Trump’s attacks on Leo, first launched on the eve of the pope’s four-country tour of Africa and repeated late Tuesday, have caused dismay in Africa, where more than a fifth of the world’s Catholics live.
Leo, who kept a relatively low profile for most of his first year leading the 1.4-billion-member Church, has emerged as an outspoken critic of the war that began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Condemnation of religious rhetoric used for war
On Thursday, Leo sharply criticised leaders who invoked religious themes to justify wars.
“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 said.
“It is a world turned upside down, an exploitation of God’s creation that must be denounced and rejected by every honest conscience.”
Similar comments made last month
Last month, the pope said God rejected prayers from leaders with “hands full of blood,” remarks widely interpreted as aimed at U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has invoked Christian language to justify the Iran war.
How do you interpret Pope Leo’s call for a “decisive change of course” in global leadership?
