Pope at Mass in Bamenda: ‘Obey God, not human beings’
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.
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.
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.
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