Online Reporter
MALABO. — Pope Leo’s four-nation Africa tour ended on Wednesday, with the pontiff braving a heavy rainstorm to greet crowds in Equatorial Guinea after speaking at a prison.
Leo, the first US pope who has debuted a forceful new speaking style while in Africa, began the day by denouncing wealth inequality during a Mass in the largest religious structure in Central Africa, a church in the town of Mongomo.
He then visited a prison in the city of Bata, Leo listened to several testimonies from prisoners who had gathered in a yard inside the facility. As he made remarks it began to rain, but the detainees remained standing outside.
Equatorial Guinea is one of several African nations that have been paid millions of dollars in controversial deals with the Trump administration to receive migrants deported from the US to countries other than their own.
Leo said he had a simple message for the inmates: that they are loved by God and remain precious in his eyes, despite their mistakes, sufferings and errors.
“You are not alone. Your families love you and are waiting for you. Many people outside these walls are praying for you.
“If any of you fear being abandoned by everyone, know that God will never abandon you, and that the Church will stand by your side,” Leo told them in Spanish.
During the Mass on Wednesday morning at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo, Leo urged Equatorial Guineans “to serve the common good rather than private interests, bridging the gap between the privileged and the disadvantaged”.
In attendance at the Mass were President Obiang and his son, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, widely known as Teodorin. – africanews.com
