Pope heads to Cameroon : NPR

Pope Leo

Andrew Medichini/AP

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Andrew Medichini/AP

ALGIERS, Algeria — Pope Leo

The Vatican says fighting corruption in the mineral-rich country and insisting on the proper use of political authority should be the themes of Leo’s visit, which begins Wednesday with his arrival in Yaounde, the capital. Leo was traveling to Cameroon from Algeria, the first stop on his tour of four African countries.

The Vatican has made clear that Catholic social teaching disapproves of the types of authoritarian leaders Leo encounters during his visit, the first to the continent by history’s first American pope.

Biya is the world’s longest-serving leader and has ruled the central African country since 1982.

Leo will meet Biya upon his arrival at the presidential palace in the capital Yaoundé. He will then address Cameroonian government authorities, civil service representatives and diplomats before visiting an orphanage run by a Catholic religious order.

Cameroonian authorities made a last-minute change to the program, the Vatican announced on Wednesday. Biya, not the prime minister, will now deliver a speech before Leo addresses government officials and the meeting will take place in the presidential palace, not a conference center.

A map showing the Pope’s planned trip through Africa.

Will Jarrett/AP

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Will Jarrett/AP

The Cameroonian opposition contested the result of the October 12 elections which ensured Biya’s victory. His electoral rival, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, claims his victory and called on Cameroonians to reject the official result.

Just this week, Leo posted a message unrelated to the role of political leaders and the need for “authentic democracy” to legitimize their authority and act as a “guard against abuse of power.”

In a message to the Vatican Academy of Social Sciences, Leo wrote that democracy only remains healthy when it is motivated by morality and a vision of humanity that respects the dignity of each person.

“In the absence of these foundations, it risks becoming either a majority tyranny or a mask for the domination of economic and technological elites,” he warned in a message that was not addressed to any particular nation or leader and was dated April 1.

A peace meeting and a break in the fighting

Leo has two major events in Cameroon, culminating in a “peace meeting” on Thursday in Bamenda, a town in northwest Cameroon plagued by separatist violence.

Anglophone separatists launched a rebellion in 2017 with the stated aim of separating from Cameroon’s French-speaking majority and establishing an independent English-speaking state. The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced more than 600,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group, a think tank.

On the eve of Leo’s arrival, English-speaking separatists announced a three-day pause in fighting to allow “safe travel” during Leo’s visit.

The Unity Alliance, which includes several separatist groups, said in a statement Monday that the pause reflected the “deep spiritual importance” of the visit and was intended to allow civilians, pilgrims and dignitaries to travel safely.

Leo’s other big event in Cameroon, where about 29 percent of the population is Catholic, is a mass Friday in the city of Douala, which some 600,000 people are expected to attend.

On Saturday, Leo will travel to Angola for the third leg of his trip, which will end next week in Equatorial Guinea.