Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Following a farewell ceremony at Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport (video), Pope Leo departed from Cameroon for Angola this afternoon.

“At a time when the figure of the Pope has been the object of attacks and questioning, the Cuban bishops have wanted to publicly express their support and closeness,” the bishops’ conference stated. “In the midst of a world wounded by conflicts and wars, the Pope’s voice becomes a prophetic light that invites us to work for peace and to defend the poor and excluded.”

The “capstone hearing of President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission contained more powerful testimony and discussion about how people of religion are under assault by the secular left,” said Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, the Commission’s chairman. “Next month, the Commission will deliver our recommendations to President Trump to ensure that Americans’ religious liberty is safeguarded against evil forces seeking to suppress them in our country.”

Two bishops are commissioners: Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron. In addition, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Bishop Thomas Paprocki, and Bishop Kevin Rhoades serve on the commission’s advisory board.

Pope Leo XIV traveled this morning from the nunciature in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital city, to Yaoundé Airport (video), where he celebrated an outdoor Mass (video)

The East African nation of 55.8 million (map) is 80% Christian (24% Catholic), 11% Muslim, and 8% ethnic religionist. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2015.

Pope Leo XIV met with students and professors at the Catholic University of Central Africa (video) and told them that no society can “flourish unless it is grounded in upright consciences, formed in the truth.”