*PAPAL VISITS TO CAMEROUN ARE AIMED AT GIVING LEGITIMACY TO PAUL BIYA, AND NOTHING ELSE*.
The Presidency of the Republic of Cameroun always invites Popes to Cameroun every time Cameroun has witnessed a major crisis.
Here are the periods of the various papal visits to Cameroon:
*August 10-14, 1985* :
Pope John Paul II visited Cameroon, just after the 1984 failed coup d’รฉtat, during which thousands of soldiers and civilians of Northern Cameroon extraction were massacred or arrested and jailed.
*March 2009:*
Pope Benedict XVI visited Cameroon, just after the 2008 revision of the constitution, removing presidential term limits, which led to nationwide protests and thousands of protesters were massacred. Hunger strikes and the Bepanda 9.
*April 15 -18, 2026 (scheduled)* :
Pope Leo XIV is expected to visit Cameroon, after a seriously flawed and contested 2025 presidential election during which scores of protesters were killed, and a 10-year, and still ongoing, genocidal war in the Southern Cameroons, with over 70,000 Southern Cameroonians already massacred and over 800 Southern Cameroons villages burned.
In conclusion, apart from giving international legitimacy to the unending stranglehold of Paul Biya over Cameroun and helping Biya cover up for his crimes against the Cameroonian people, none of the above papal visits have had, or would have, any impact on the faith and spiritual lives of Cameroonians, given that Cameroun remains one of the most corrupt, dictatorial and brutal states in the world.
Elangwe Joseph /BN
