The first US pope, who has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump after becoming more outspoken in recent weeks, also decried what he called the “colonisation” of the Earth’s oil and mineral resources, which he said was driving bloody conflicts.
“The destiny of humanity risks being tragically compromised without a change of direction in the assumption of political responsibility and without respect for institutions and international agreements,” the pope said.
In a speech to Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and other political leaders, the head of the 1.4-billion-member Church said: “God does not want this.”
He added: “His holy name must not be profaned by the will to dominate, by arrogance or by discrimination. Above all, it must never be invoked to justify choices and actions of death.”
Leo has criticised authoritarians on Africa tour
In earlier comments on the flight from Angola to Malabo, on the island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea, Leo paid respects to his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died one year ago today.
Leo, visiting Equatorial Guinea on the last leg of an ambitious 10-day tour, has taken on a new forceful speaking style during his time in Africa, issuing sharp denunciations of war, inequality and global leadership.
He warned on Monday at an event in Angola that many people in the world were being “exploited by authoritarians and defrauded by the rich”.
Obiang has led Equatorial Guinea since 1979 and has been widely criticised as one of the most repressive leaders in the region.
His government denies allegations of human rights abuses and corruption.
Read More: Pope Leo decries exploitation by world’s ‘authoritarians’ during Angola trip
Leo’s comments lamenting the use of religion to justify violence echo remarks he made in March, when he said God rejects prayers from leaders with “hands full of blood”.
Those remarks were interpreted by conservative Catholic commentators as aimed at US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has invoked Christian language to justify the war against Iran.
Leo has emerged in recent weeks as a growing critic of the war.
The pope’s comments on Tuesday came as Trump was due to host a livestreamed Bible reading at the White House later in the day.
Pope to visit prison, blast site
More than 70% of Equatorial Guinea’s population of 1.8 million identify as Catholic.
Leo, who spent decades as a missionary in Peru before becoming pope, is expected to speak Spanish throughout his two-day visit to the former Portuguese and Spanish colony.
His arrival “presents a profound opportunity to affirm, clearly and convincingly, that human dignity, justice and accountability are not optional, but essential responsibilities of governance”, Tutu Alicante, a US-based human rights lawyer and activist from Equatorial Guinea, told Reuters.
On Wednesday, in the city of Bata, the pope will visit a high-security detention centre that Amnesty International has said is one of three notorious facilities in the country where detainees, including political prisoners, are regularly held for years without access to lawyers or their families.
Leo will also pray in Bata at the site of a series of explosions in 2021 at a military barracks that killed more than 100 people, which the government blamed on poor storage of ordnance.
Human rights activists have called for an independent investigation into the incident, so far in vain.