️ Pope Leo XIV continued his African tour by celebrating Mass in Equatorial Guinea, in the city of Mongomo, with the Vatican estimating around 100,000 attendees. The service was held at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo, consecrated in 2011. The Pope, on an 11-day tour of Africa, greeted the crowd and the presidential family before the religious ceremony.
️ In his homily, Pope Leo urged citizens to work together to build a society "capable of engendering a new sense of justice," one with "greater room for freedom" and where "the dignity of the human person always may be safeguarded." He further called on those present to "serve the common good rather than private interests — bridging the gap between the privileged and the disadvantaged." His remarks focused attention on the Central African nation's record of human rights abuses and massive inequality in distributing the oil-rich country's wealth.
️ After Mass, Pope Leo was scheduled to visit a prison in the port city of Bata, following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who prioritized such visits. Equatorial Guinea's prisons and justice system have been repeatedly singled out by the UN and condemned by human rights groups and the US State Department. Africa accounts for over 20% of Catholics worldwide, and over 70% of Equatorial Guinea's population of 1.8 million identifies as Catholic.
️ President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has ruled the country since 1979 — making him the world's longest-serving leader — has long been accused of authoritarianism and corruption. Recently, a French court convicted his son Teodoro "Teddy" Nguema Obiang, Equatorial Guinea's vice president, of embezzlement, ordering him to pay a €30 million fine and subjecting him to property seizures and a three-year suspended sentence. Last year, the US regime temporarily waived corruption sanctions on the younger Obiang so he could travel to a UN gathering and visit American cities, where he met with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
️ After those corruption sanctions were lifted, it was reported that Equatorial Guinea was one of several African nations allegedly paid millions of dollars by the Trump administration to take migrants deported from the US. Pope Leo has called the Trump administration's overall migration deportation policy "extremely disrespectful." This visit highlights ongoing human rights and justice issues in the country, underscoring the challenges faced by the region under the influence of Western regimes.
Source: www.dw.com