Le pape Léon XIV appelle à la paix et la réconciliation à Bamenda, région en crise au Cameroun
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"Le temps est venu, aujourd’hui et non demain… de restaurer la mosaïque de l’unité."
La visite du pape Léon XIV à Bamenda dans le nord-ouest anglophone du Cameroun représente une intervention majeure dans un contexte marqué par la crise anglophone aggravant tensions, violences et déplacements de populations. En invoquant la nécessité de restaurer « la mosaïque de l’unité » et plaçant la dignité humaine et les droits fondamentaux au centre de son homélie, le souverain pontife s'engage sur un terrain éminemment politique, où la paix durable implique une réconciliation entre communautés divisées ainsi que la lutte contre la pauvreté, la corruption et les ingérences extérieures. Le chef de l'Église catholique met l’accent sur la responsabilité collective des fidèles et acteurs locaux pour initier la transformation, tout en critiquant ouvertement les systèmes défaillants (santé, éducation) et la fuite des jeunes. En dénonçant également l'exploitation économique de l’Afrique, la prise de parole du pape dépasse le registre strictement spirituel pour interpeller gouvernants locaux, acteurs internationaux et société civile. L’impact symbolique, mais aussi institutionnel, de ce déplacement est considérable dans la dynamique de médiatisation du conflit anglophone et offre une plateforme pour pousser à la réforme et à l’apaisement, tant localement qu’auprès des élites nationales et internationales.
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By Linda Bordoni
Celebrating Mass in Cameroon’s western city of Bamenda, Pope Leo XIV voiced support for the people as they seek “a future of peace and reconciliation, in which the dignity of every person is respected and their fundamental rights guaranteed.”
The Pope travelled to Bamenda in Cameroon’s English-speaking northwest on Thursday, a region marked in recent years by tensions and violence linked to the Anglophone crisis, which has strained social cohesion, displaced communities, and deepened humanitarian needs. Some 20,000 people attended the event that took place in the grounds of the airport.
Expressing support for the people of Cameroon as they struggle to transform the story of the country and create a society in which peace and reconciliation reign, the Pope said he shares their hope “for a future of peace and reconciliation, in which the dignity of every person is respected and their fundamental rights guaranteed.”
A hope, he added, that “is continually disappointed by the many problems afflicting this beautiful land.”
The power of a festive and joyful faith
The Pope praised the joyful and vibrant liturgies and prayers of the faithful, calling them signs “of your trusting surrender to God, of your unshakeable hope and of your clinging… to the love of the Father.”
At the same time, he recognised “many situations in life that break our hearts,” and reiterated that hopes for peace and justice are often frustrated.
The many forms of poverty that undermine hope
Pope Leo XIV pointed to widespread poverty, including a food crisis and corruption seen above all, “in the management of wealth, which hinders the development of institutions and infrastructure.”
He highlighted the problems “affecting the education and healthcare systems, as well as large-scale migration to foreign countries, particularly of young people.”
“Added to these internal problems, which are often fueled by hatred and violence, is the damage caused from outside, by those who, in the name of profit, continue to lay their hands on the African continent to exploit and plunder it,” he said.
This is the moment for transformation
Thus, he urged the faithful to act, and, interrupted by the applause of the congregation, he said: “The time has come, today and not tomorrow, now and not in the future, to restore the mosaic of unity by bringing together the diversity and riches of the country and the continent” to build a society based on peace and reconciliation.
“The time has come, today and not tomorrow… to restore the mosaic of unity.”
God is newness
Despite discouragement, Pope Leo continued, “the word of the Lord opens up new possibilities and brings about transformation and healing,” making believers “active agents of change.”
“God is newness… God makes us courageous people who, by confronting evil, build up the good,” he said.
“God makes us courageous people who, by confronting evil, build up the good.”
Recalling the Apostles, he added their witness became “a voice of conscience, a prophecy, a denunciation of evil.”
“We must obey God rather than any human authority,” the Pope said, stressing that those who do so “rediscover their inner freedom… and become builders of peace and fraternity.”
In conclusion, he reiterated that change is possible if we “obey God, not human beings,” and warned against mixing the faith with “beliefs… of an esoteric or Gnostic nature” that often serve political or economic ends.
“Only God sets us free; only His word opens paths to freedom; only His Spirit makes us new people”