Pope Leo calls on Cameroonians to reject violence as 120,000 join Mass

Speaking at a packed stadium ceremony in Douala, Pope shares message of hope, peace and faith during Africa trip.Pope Leo XIV has addressed a massive crowd in Cameroon, using one of the biggest stages of his Africa tour to preach a message of justice and nonviolence.Addressing about 120,000 faithful in Douala, the Roman Catholic leader called on the city’s youth to reject violence and corruption to pursue the common good.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump deletes image of himself as Jesus-like saviour after backlashlist 2 of 3Trump turns on Meloni, saying she lacks ‘courage’ over US-Israel war on Iranlist 3 of 3The pope has shown the world how to stand up to Trumpend of listHis homily in English and French said: “Do not give in to distrust and discouragement. Reject every form of abuse or violence, which deceives by promising easy gains but hardens the heart”.“Do not forget that your people are even richer than this land, for your treasure lies in your values: faith, family, hospitality and work,” he added.Security was tight for Friday Mass. Cameroonians started ‌filing into the Japorma stadium the day before, staying overnight to see the pontiff in person.“It was difficult – the cold, the mosquitoes and everything,” ‌Kevin Kaegam told the Reuters news agency. “But since we want to see the supreme pontiff, we had no choice”.Pope Leo was later due to visit a Catholic hospital in the city, before heading to the capital, Yaounde, to meet students at the Catholic University of Central Africa.His stop in Douala, Cameroon’s largest city and economic hub, follows a visit yesterday to the western city of Bamenda. It is the epicentre of a nearly decade-long English-speaking separatist insurgency that has killed thousands. There, he appealed for peace and criticised those “who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain”.