Africa stands in Solidarity with Pope Leo XIV after attack by the US President
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Following the recent attack on the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, by the Head of State of the United States of America (USA), President Donald Trump, a section of Africans have shared solidarity messages, condemning the President’s action but appreciating the Pope’s bold step to speak against the ongoing war between the US-Israel war with Iran.
On Saturday, April 11, when the Pontiff led the Holy Rosary prayer vigil for peace, he said, “There are certainly binding responsibilities that fall to the leaders of nations. To them we cry out: Stop! It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned, and deadly actions are decided!
He added, “We are an immense multitude that rejects war not only in word, but also in deed. Prayer calls us to leave behind whatever violence remains in our hearts and minds. Let us turn to a Kingdom of peace that is built up day by day in our homes, schools, neighborhoods, and civil and religious communities.”
On Thursday, April 16, while on his trip in Africa and addressing the community of Bamenda, Cameroon on peace, at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Pope Leo XIV criticised “The masters of war who pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild.”
He noted that these masters “turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education, and restoration are nowhere to be found.”
Over the Holy Father’s calls for peace, President Trump, in response, said Pope Leo XIV is “too liberal and weak on crime.”
SIGNIS Africa
SIGNIS-Africa, a continental branch of the World Catholic Association for Communication, with over 20 countries from Africa that brings together Catholic journalists and media professionals affirmed that the Pope’s calls for restraint in the use of military power, for sincere dialogue, and for the peaceful co-existence of peoples are entirely consistent with his role as the representative of Jesus Christ and successor of Saint Peter.
“We assure the Holy Father of our prayers for a successful pastoral visit as well as our filial solidarity in the face of disrespectful political attacks,” reads in part the message from SIGNIS-Africa signed by the President Fr. Walter C. Ihejirik.
SIGNIS Africa underscored that the values the Pope has championed: peace, dialogue, and human co-existence, are not just political positions but core values which animate the very communication activities of Catholic communicators across the continent.
The leadership of SIGNIS Africa highlighted further that the African Church does not regard the attacks as a matter of geopolitics alone, but as a direct affront to the pastoral and moral authority of the papacy itself.
Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops
From members of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), addressing the “public attacks on His Holiness Pope Leo XIV by United States President Donald Trump, his Vice President James Donald “JD” Vance, and others,” the leaders of the Catholic Church pointed out that Pope Leo, has consistently demonstrated a spirit of peace-making, dialogue, and reconciliation in a world torn by division and violence and has done so in direct faithfulness to the Gospel mandate captured in the Beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9).
His commitment to the Gospel of peace, the bishops state, “stands in stark contrast to those who choose the path of war, hatred, and destruction.”
Citing the Gospel of Matthew (26:52), the bishops declared that “war is a defeat for humanity, that it destroys lives, families, and the common good, and urge all who hold power to heed the words of the prophet Jeremiah: ‘Act uprightly and justly… do not shed innocent blood” (Jeremiah 22:3).
They call on those waging war in their statement, signed by the President of the conference, Archbishop Ignatius Chama of Kasama Archdiocese, to “lay down weapons of violence and take up instead the harder work of justice and peace.”
The Bishops encouraged the Head of the Catholic Church to continue his prophetic witness, invoking St. Paul’s counsel: “if possible, on your part, live at peace with all” (Romans 12:18)
They further called on all leaders, political and otherwise, “to reject the language of violence and embrace dialogue for peace is the only future worthy of God’s children.”
Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference
On their part, members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, (SACBC) have added their voice on the same concern, stating that the Holy Father, has spoken out against the conflicts and wars of our present time courageously and unequivocally and has done so in accordance with the Gospel imperative captured in the Beatitude: “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). To attack him for this witness, the bishops noted, is to attack the Gospel itself.
“We are grateful to the Holy Father for his fidelity in proclaiming the Gospel, and we support him as he prophetically speaks truth to power,” reads the message dated Tuesday, April 14, and signed by the President of the Conference, His Eminence Stephen Cardinal Brislin.
The Prelates affirm communion with the Pope’s specific concerns: his advocacy for migrants and the victims of war, and his condemnation of what they call the immorality of bowing to the false gods of power and money.
They call for conversion from arrogance and trust in power and domination, invoking the promise of Prophet Ezekiel that hearts of stone will be replaced by hearts of flesh (Ez. 36:26), and further urge all people, and especially the perpetrators of war, to listen to the cry of the children and heed the pain of those suffering from violence.
