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18 April 2026
Parent Category: Iniziative (EN) -
Category: Maison de la Paix (EN)
A delegation from the “United States of the World” and the “Fondazione Mediterraneo” is taking part in the main events in Angola to mark the visit of Pope Leo XIV.
In Luanda, the Pope addresses the authorities, first of all remembering the victims of the recent floods in Benguela. He then highlights the “scars” left by the exploitation of the country, caused by predatory “overbearing interests”: “How much suffering, how many deaths, how many social and environmental disasters this extractivist logic brings with it!”. In encouraging those who have chosen goodness, justice, peace and reconciliation, Leo XIV asks local leaders not to fear dissent.
Angola is a “vibrant mosaic” and, as such, must be preserved from all predatory attempts that undermine its harmonious development, rooted in justice and brotherhood. This is the heart of the message that the Pope, having arrived in this region of southern Africa, delivers whilst speaking – following a courtesy visit to the President of the Republic, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço – to some 400 people, including political and religious authorities, business leaders, and representatives of civil society and culture gathered in the ceremonial hall of the Presidential Palace. An institutional gathering ‘warmed up’ first by a procession – a very colourful one indeed – which flanked the popemobile along the route, and then by a musical tribute featuring the typically slow and captivating rhythm of the kizomba.
In his address, delivered in Portuguese, the Pope focused on the unethical exploitation of the country’s resources, following the President’s welcoming remarks, in which the latter painted a troubling picture of a situation beset by what he described as “a frenzied race for raw materials, seized by force of arms by the world’s most powerful armies against sovereign nations”. For his part, Gonçalves Lourenço is keen to outline to the guest of honour the government’s efforts to promote appropriate social policies and to provide investment in water and electricity supply, as well as in ensuring housing, jobs, healthcare and education that function effectively. Aware that the challenge is complex, the President reaffirms the government’s commitment to the poorest, driven by the daily struggle against inequality, indifference and social exclusion.
A complex and difficult challenge, indeed, at least when one considers what happened last Sunday, when the population was hit by severe floods that caused around thirty deaths and overwhelmed the infrastructure, submerging entire neighbourhoods. Over 34,000 people were forced to leave their homes. The toll was highest in Benguela, on the Atlantic coast, where 23 people lost their lives. It is to them, in particular, that the Pope’s thoughts turn, right at the start of his address.
Leone states that the Angolan people “possess treasures that cannot be sold or stolen”. While pleased that there are still those who resist what he calls “the deception of wealth”, the Pontiff’s words nevertheless warn of the risk that joy and hope – virtues he describes as “political” – may be undermined and tainted by genuine distortions.
The closing meeting, entitled “Towards a United States of Europe”, took place at the headquarters of the “United States of the World” and was coordinated by Senator Giuseppe Lumia, a founding member of the organisation.
A delegation from the “United States of the World” and the “Mediterranean Foundation” is taking part in the main events in Cameroon to mark the visit of Pope Leo XIV. The Pope meets over one hundred thousand people representing the people of Cameroon and of that “plundered” Africa, as he himself described it, repeating Christ’s question to his disciples in the passage on the multiplication of the loaves and fishes: This is the Gospel proclaimed at Mass in Douala, the economic capital with four million inhabitants, overlooking the ocean, an hour’s flight from Yaoundé, which the Pontiff is visiting on his apostolic journey through four nations of the continent. By car, Leo XIV travels along the main road that cuts through the shanty towns that plague Africa. He passes between the wooden shacks and the families living on the barren land. Then he arrives at the “Japoma Stadium” in the “Africa Cup of Nations” sports complex, where he celebrates the Eucharist. The heat is scorching. And in the popemobile, he makes his way through the crowd amidst singing and dancing. During the liturgy, Leo XIV quotes the question from Scripture which, he says, today “is addressed to those who bear the social and political responsibility of looking after the people and their welfare”. And they have the duty to respond to the “hunger of the people” that humiliates a large part of humanity, he denounces. “A hunger for peace, for freedom, for justice,” he is keen to emphasise. And a hunger for “food” that is “rationed in times of emergency”, “stolen in times of strife”, “wasted by those who gorge themselves whilst others have nothing to eat”. The alternative to greed is the “miracle” of “sharing”, as the Pope calls it in his homily delivered in both French and English. And he warns: “There is bread for everyone if it is given to everyone. There is bread for everyone if it is taken not with a hand that grasps, but with a hand that gives”. 
The Council of Ambassadors of the United States of the World and the Executive Board of the Fondazione Mediterraneo have expressed their full solidarity with Pope Leo XIV, condemning President Donald Trump’s attack as unacceptable and wholly inappropriate for a representative of the Catholic faith.