Against this turbulent backdrop, Pope Leo XIV has offered a pointed spiritual rebuke. Speaking at the Vatican ahead of a 10-day trip to Africa — which will include visits to Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea — the Pope declared that “the world is being devastated by a handful of tyrants” [19].
The remark, reported by O Globo, did not name specific leaders, but it lands at a moment when armed conflicts in the Middle East and the resulting humanitarian and economic fallout have made the Pope’s words feel less like pastoral rhetoric and more like geopolitical commentary. His upcoming African tour will take him to nations grappling with their own governance challenges, resource dependencies, and the downstream effects of distant wars.
