Pope urges young people in Cameroon to resist the temptation of migration

Pope Leo XIV today called on young people in Cameroon to resist the temptation of migration and, instead, to work for the common good of the country, as well as morally upright citizens to fight corruption, which is a sore point in many African countries.

During a mass and meeting with students and professors at the Catholic University of Central Africa, Pope Leo highlighted two major problems facing the continent - corruption, which keeps countries in poverty, and brain drain, or the departure of their brightest children, who leave the country rather than fight corruption there.

These are the themes the pope highlighted during his visit to Cameroon, a mineral-rich central African country ruled since 1982 by 93-year-old President Paul Biya, who secured an eighth consecutive term in contested elections last year.

Today marked the halfway point of the pope's 11-day tour of four African countries. On Saturday, he travels to Angola, another country that has oil and other natural resources but where a third of the population lives on less than $2,15 a day.

"Africa must truly be freed from the scourge of corruption," Pope Leo XIV told students and their professors in the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde.

The pope began the day with a mass in the port city of Douala, Cameroon's financial center on the west coast. The Vatican had expected as many as 600.000 people, but only about 120.000 arrived.

Organizers in Cameroon suggested that security restrictions and closed roads may have prevented many from reaching the field, which was located well outside the city, near the Dzapoma sports stadium.

Some of those who managed to arrive spent the night at the site, fighting off mosquitoes, but said they were ready to sacrifice themselves for the pope.

Speaking at the university, the pope urged students to resist the temptation to leave the country and instead use their education to improve their lives and the lives of their fellow citizens back home, telling them that Africa needs them.

"Against the understandable tendency to migrate, which can lead one to believe that a better future can be more easily found elsewhere, I invite you above all to respond with a strong desire to serve your country and to apply the knowledge you acquire here for the benefit of your compatriots," Pope Leo said.