Pope Leo XIV has urged Cameroon’s long-serving President Paul Biya to break “the chains of corruption” and govern with integrity, while calling for an end to violence that has devastated parts of the country.
In a pointed address at the presidential palace on Thursday, the pontiff told Biya and senior officials that high office demands both institutional collaboration and personal upright conduct.a2dac9
“In order for peace and justice to prevail, the chains of corruption – which disfigure authority and strip it of its credibility – must be broken,” the Pope declared.
He continued: “The high offices you hold demand a twofold witness. The first is achieved through the collaboration of the various agencies and administrative levels of the state in the service of the people, and especially of the poor. The second is accomplished by carrying out your institutional and professional responsibilities with integrity and upright conduct.”
Leo XIV, the first American pope, highlighted the human cost of ongoing conflicts in Cameroon’s Northwest, Southwest and Far North regions.
“Today, like many other nations, your country is facing complex difficulties. The tensions and violence that have afflicted certain regions… have caused profound suffering: lives have been lost, families displaced, children deprived of schooling and young people no longer see a future,” he said.
“Behind the numbers are the faces, stories and shattered hopes of real people.”
The Pope rejected any peace based on weapons or fear, calling instead for “a peace that is unarmed… and at the same time disarming, because it is capable of resolving conflicts, opening hearts and generating trust, empathy and hope.”
He lamented the diversion of vast resources to war while education, health and social welfare suffer, urging leaders to prioritise the common good.
Biya, 93, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982 and secured an eighth term last year extending his mandate to 2032, listened as the Pope spoke. The veteran leader has faced criticism over governance, corruption allegations and the handling of separatist unrest in the English-speaking regions, often referred to as the Ambazonian crisis.
The Vatican has signalled that tackling graft and promoting peace would be central themes of the papal visit to the mineral-rich Central African nation.
Leo XIV’s unusually direct remarks come amid persistent instability, with thousands killed or displaced in the separatist conflict and security challenges in the north linked to jihadist groups.
The Pope’s message emphasised that genuine authority flows from service rather than power, quoting Saint Augustine on the duty of rulers to serve those they govern.
No immediate reaction from the Cameroonian government was issued following the address, but the visit has drawn attention to long-standing calls for dialogue, transparency and national reconciliation.
