Pope Leo slammed leaders who spend billions on wars, saying the world was being “destroyed by a handful of tyrants” in unusually strong-worded remarks from Cameroon as criticism and verbal attacks by US President Donald Trump against the pontiff continued.
Leo, the first US pope, also criticised leaders who use religious language to justify wars and urged a “decisive change of course” while speaking at a meeting in Cameroon’s largest city in the English-speaking regions, where an undercurrent of nearly a decade-long conflict has left thousands dead.
“The war bosses pretend not to know that it only takes a moment to destroy, but often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild,” the pontiff said.
“They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and destruction, yet the resources needed for healing, education and rehabilitation are nowhere to be found,” he added.
Trump’s attacks in recent days on the pope, which began on the eve of the pontiff’s tour of four countries in Africa, have sparked outrage in Africa, home to more than a fifth of the world’s Catholics.
The pope, who has kept a relatively low profile for most of his first year as prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, has emerged as a fierce critic of the US-Israeli war in Iran.
Today, the pontiff strongly criticised leaders who invoke religious issues to justify wars.
“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging what is sacred into darkness and filth,” he said.
“This is a world turned upside down, an exploitation of God’s creation that must be deplored and rejected by every honest conscience,” he added.
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