Pope's Visit to Cameroon: Special Posting

Pope Benedict XVI's First Visit to Cameroon

Yaoundè, Cameroon [Though Benedict XVI’s brief comments about condoms in response to a reporter’s question seem likely to dominate international headlines on day one of his maiden voyage to Africa, here in Cameroon, a country once rated by Transparency International as the most corrupt on earth, it was another tough papal line that actually raised more eyebrows. In effect, the pope called on Christians to challenge the endemic corruption that many observers see as a central obstacle to development in African societies. “In the face of suffering or violence, poverty or hunger, corruption or abuse of power, a Christian can never remain silent,” the pope said during a welcoming ceremony at the airport in Yaoundè, the national capital. ----- Many Cameroonians say the Catholic church here has at times played a lonely role in demanding greater transparency and democratization, pointing to a string of unsolved murders of priests, nuns and even an archbishop as the price that such outspokenness can sometimes exact. Benedict also used blunt terms to describe the wider difficulties of Africa. “Regional conflicts leave thousands homeless or destitute, orphaned or widowed,” the pope said. “In a continent which, in times past, saw so many of its people cruelly uprooted and traded overseas to work as slaves, today human trafficking, especially of defenseless women and children, has become a new form of slavery. “At a time of global food shortages, financial turmoil, and disturbing patterns of climate change, Africa suffers disproportionately,” Benedict said. “More and more of her people are falling prey to hunger, poverty, and disease.” To be sure, the pope praised Cameroon for its peacefulness,

its record of inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony,

and its strong defense of unborn life.

(Abortion is illegal here.)

Nonetheless, his challenge on corruption can hardly

have been what Biya was hoping for;

massive billboards plastered

throughout Yaoundè trumpet a “perfect communion” between the two figures, a narrative

that the pope’s debut does not quite support...]

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Excerpts from an E-Mail report

sent by Rev. Ashley Maurice

Hekima College, Nairobi - Kenya

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vmalpan@gmail.com