ALGIERS, Algeria – Pope Leo blasted violations of international law by “neocolonial” world powers in a forceful speech on Monday, April 13, during an Africa tour, hours after US President Donald Trump’s direct attack on the leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church.

Leo is travelling to Africa “as a witness to the peace and hope that the world so ardently desires,” he told political leaders in Algeria, his first stop on a whirlwind four-nation trip.

“The future belongs (to) those who do not allow themselves to be blinded by power or wealth,” the first US pope said. “Africa knows all too well that people and organizations that dominate others destroy the world.”

Leo, originally from Chicago, did not single out specific countries for criticism, but he has emerged as an outspoken critic of the Iran war in recent weeks and decried the “madness of war” in a peace appeal on Saturday.

Trump, in an apparent response to the pope’s statements about the conflict and the White House’s hard-line immigration policies, said late on Sunday that Leo was “terrible,” in remarks that drew immediate rebuke from US believers.

Leo told Reuters on the papal flight from Rome to Algiers on Monday morning that he planned to continue speaking out against war, despite Trump’s comments.

“I don’t want to get into a debate with him,” said the pope. “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships.”

Pope decries violations of international law

Leo, aged 70, relatively young and in good health for a pope, is undertaking one of the most complicated papal trips arranged in decades.

It will take him to 11 cities and towns across Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea, traversing nearly 18,000 km over 18 flights.

On Monday in Algeria, the pope urged leaders in the country to build a society based on principles of justice and solidarity.

“Today, this is more urgent than ever in the face of continuous violations of international law and neocolonial tendencies,” he said.

Leo is making the multi-nation tour “to help turn the world’s attention to Africa,” Cardinal Michael Czerny, a senior Vatican official and close adviser to Leo, told Reuters.

More than 20% of the world’s Catholics live in Africa, according to Vatican statistics. The three sub-Saharan nations the pope is visiting have populations where more than half identify as Catholic.

Algeria, though, is an overwhelmingly Muslim country with under 10,000 Catholics among its population of some 48 million people. This is the first time it will host a Catholic pope.

Pope to give 25 speeches on multitude of topics

Leo’s tour is the 24th by a pope to Africa since the late 1960s.

He is expected to touch on many topics in 25 planned speeches over 10 days, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told journalists on Friday, given that the four nations face diverse issues.

Likely topics include exploitation of natural resources, Catholic-Muslim dialogue and the dangers of political corruption, said Bruni.

Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea have presidents who have been in power for decades and have been accused of human rights abuses, which they deny.

The biggest event of the itinerary will likely come in Cameroon on Friday, when the Vatican said some 600,000 people are expected for a Mass in the coastal city of Douala.

Comfortable in several languages, Leo is expected to speak Italian, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish during the trip.

After speaking to Algeria’s political leaders on Monday, Leo will visit the Great Mosque of Algiers in only his second visit to a mosque as pope.

He will travel on Tuesday to Annaba on Algeria’s northeast coast for a visit to the ruins of the ancient town of Hippo.

The site has special meaning for Leo, who is a member of the Augustinian religious order. The order is inspired by the teachings of fourth-century Saint Augustine of Hippo, a major figure in the early Church. – Rappler.com