Pope Leo Condemns Inequality and Injustice on Final Day of African Tour
The 70-year-old pontiff, Pope Leo, used the final full day of his four-nation Africa tour on Wednesday to deliver a powerful message against wealth inequality and injustice. He urged believers to work towards bridging the divide between rich and poor in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, a nation governed by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo since 1979, making him the world's longest-serving president.
Whirlwind Travel and Strong Messages
Flying approximately 700 km across Equatorial Guinea to visit three cities, Pope Leo began his day in Mongomo. During a Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Central Africa's largest religious structure, he implored Equatorial Guineans "to serve the common good rather than private interests, bridging the gap between the privileged and the disadvantaged." The Vatican reported that roughly 100,000 people gathered inside and outside the basilica, dancing and screaming as his white popemobile arrived, with organizers releasing smoke in the colours of the Vatican and Equatorial Guinea flags.
Criticism of Repressive Conditions
Pope Leo also decried poor treatment of prisoners, stating they are often forced to live in troubling hygienic and sanitary conditions. He was scheduled to visit a high-security prison in Bata, where human rights groups allege political prisoners are held in abusive conditions. Amnesty International notes that detainees at this facility are regularly held for years without access to lawyers, though the government dismisses such criticism, claiming an open democracy.
Political Context and Human Rights Concerns
Equatorial Guinea is widely regarded as one of the region's most repressive nations, despite enjoying warm ties with the US, partly due to its oil wealth. Recently, Obiang's government struck a deal with the Trump administration to accept deportees from other countries, a move criticized by immigration lawyers and advocates. A group of 70 NGOs published an open letter calling on Pope Leo to push for "fair, humane and lawful treatment" of these deportees.
Attendance and Personal Stories
In attendance at the basilica event were President Obiang and his son, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, known as Teodorin, who has documented his glamorous lifestyle on Instagram. Teodorin was convicted of embezzlement in France in 2017 in absentia, with assets worth over 100 million euros confiscated. Mairano Nve, 70, expressed excitement, saying, "It is a huge joy to have the pope visiting us. He just wants to see us and give us a blessing in the name of Jesus."
Complex Tour and Historical Context
Pope Leo, the first pope to visit Equatorial Guinea since 1982, is concluding one of the most complicated overseas tours ever arranged for a pontiff. He has traversed nearly 18,000 km across 18 flights to 11 cities in four countries. More than 70% of Equatorial Guinea's population of 1.8 million identify as Catholic. The pope will also pray in Bata at the site of a 2021 explosion at a military barracks that killed over 100 people, blamed by the government on poor storage of ordnance, with human rights activists calling for an independent investigation.
