Standing before a crowd of 20,000 at Bamenda airport, Pope Leo XIV delivered what may be his sharpest rebuke of his young papacy, denouncing the "masters of war" who spend billions on destruction while leaving the world's most vulnerable without the resources to rebuild.
"They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation," Leo told the gathering in Cameroon's largest anglophone city, "yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found." Then he added: "Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain."
The remarks (made without naming names) landed squarely in the middle of an escalating feud between Leo and Trump. President Trump has lobbed multiple attacks at the pope on Truth Social since the start of Leo's 11-day Africa tour, calling him "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy." On Wednesday, Trump posted an AI-generated image as Jesus.
Leo, who has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the US-Israeli war on Iran, told reporters earlier this week he would not stop speaking out. "I continue to speak strongly against war," he said on the plane to Algeria, "seeking to promote peace, dialogue and multilateralism."
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops weighed in on Wednesday, pushing back against Vice President JD Vance's claim that Leo had misrepresented the Church's "just war" tradition. The bishops said it was Vance who had it wrong: "A constant tenet of that thousand-year tradition is a nation can only legitimately take up the sword in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed."
Leo's visit to Bamenda also carried local weight. The region has been gripped by a simmering conflict between government forces and anglophone separatists since 2017, leaving more than 6,500 dead. A separatist alliance declared a three-day ceasefire to coincide with the papal visit. Leo heard testimony from a nun who had been kidnapped and held hostage last November, and from an imam whose mosque was attacked by armed men during prayers.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, expressed solidarity on Thursday, saying she stood with Leo in his "courageous call for a kingdom of peace." The pope continues his Africa tour, which also includes stops in Algeria, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.