Cameroon president says world needs pope's 'message of peace'

Cameroon's President Paul Biya said on Wednesday that "the world needs the message of peace" brought by Pope Leo XIV, in a speech in front of the pontiff on his first day of a visit to the country.

The pope's four-nation African tour began amid remarks by US President Donald Trump that he was "not a big fan" of Leo after the US-born pontiff called for peace in the Middle East.

"The world needs the message of peace, justice, tolerance, forgiveness, and love that you bear," the Cameroonian president said.

Without explicitly mentioning Trump or the war with Iran, Biya noted that Leo's "apostolic journey to Cameroon is taking place in an especially difficult international context."

Pope-Trump clash

As the US-Israeli war with Iran has dragged on, Pope Leo has become more and more vocal in calling for peace, branding Trump's threat in early April to annihilate civilisation in Iran as "unacceptable."

In turn, the US President has taken to social media to lambast the pope, who has also criticised the Trump administration over its immigration crackdown.

Besides Trump, US Vice President JD Vance – himself a Catholic – has also waded in, urging the Vatican to "stick to matters of morality... and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy."