Pope urges young people to resist temptation of corruption in big Mass in Cameroon - AP News

Pope Leo XIV is encouraging young people in Cameroon to resist the temptation to migrate and to stay at home and fight corruption. Leo delivered the twin messages during a meeting with students at the Catholic University of Central Africa. They’re themes Leo has highlighted during his visit to Cameroon, the second leg of his four-nation African trip. He leaves Saturday for Angola, another country blessed with oil and other natural resources, but where a third of the population lives on less than $2.15 a day.

Pope urges Africa’s youth to resist dual temptations of migration and corruption in Cameroon

A woman with her child attends Pope Leo XIV’s meeting with University students and professors at the Catholic University of Central Africa, in Yaounde Cameroon, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV delivers his message during a meeting with University students and professors at the Catholic University of Central Africa, in Yaounde Cameroon, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Faithful wait for Pope Leo XIV in the Japoma Stadium before the start of a Mass, in Douala, Cameroon, Friday, April 17, 2026 on the fifth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV talks with a student during a meeting at the Catholic University of Central Africa, in Yaounde Cameroon, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV arrives in procession to celebrate Mass at the Japoma Stadium, in Douala, Cameroon, Friday, April 17, 2026 on the fifth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

DOUALA, Cameroon (AP) — Pope Leo XIV urged Cameroon’s young people on Friday to resist the temptation to migrate and instead work for the common good at home, as he called for morally upright citizens to combat corruption plaguing many African countries.

Leo highlighted two of the big problems facing the continent during a Mass and a meeting with students and faculty at the Catholic University of Central Africa: the corruption that keeps countries in poverty and the brain drain of their brightest children who leave rather than fight the corruption at home.

They’re themes Leo has highlighted during his visit to Cameroon, a mineral-rich Central African nation which has been ruled since 1982 by 93-year-old President Paul Biya, who last year secured an eighth consecutive term with a disputed election.

Friday marked the half-way point in Leo’s 11-day tour of four African nations. He leaves Saturday for Angola, another country blessed with oil and other natural resources, but where a third of the population lives on less than $2.15 a day.

Thousands in Cameroon turned out to hear the Pope’s message to resist corruption and work for the common good. AP’s Lisa Dwyer reports on the outpouring of support for Pope.

“Africa, indeed, must be freed from the scourge of corruption,” Leo told the university students and their teachers in the capital Yaounde.

“The greatness of a nation cannot be measured solely by the abundance of its natural resources, nor even by the material wealth of its institutions,” he said. “No society, in fact, can flourish unless it is grounded in upright consciences, formed in the truth.”

A big Mass to start the day

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