Pope Leo holds giant Mass for Angolans

LUANDA, Angola (AFP) — Pope Leo XIV will hold a giant open-air Mass and visit one of southern Africa’s holiest Christian sites Sunday on the first full day of a visit to Angola.

Leo arrived in the Portuguese-speaking nation on Saturday for the third leg of a four-nation tour of the continent.

At a meeting with officials including President Joao Lourenco, he spoke out against the “suffering” and social and environmental “disasters” caused by the rampant exploitation of natural resources.

The remarks continued a theme of his 11-day tour during which he has delivered pointed warnings against corruption and the plunder of the continent’s resources.

The trip started in Algeria on Monday, overshadowed by a war of words with United States President Donald Trump.

The US president criticized the American pope as “weak” last weekend after he called for an end to the conflict in the Middle East.

Leo said on the plane from Cameroon to Angola on Saturday that he regretted that some of his comments during his African visit had been interpreted as a response to Trump’s jibes.