Apostolic Nuncio in Cameroon Recalls Pope Leo XIV’s Peace Message, Says Children Going to School Must be Protected

“Let us allow children to go to school in peace,” he urged. 

Archbishop Bettencourt recalled that shortly before travelling to Cameroon, Pope Leo XIV presided over a prayer vigil for peace in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, during which he highlighted the suffering of children living amid conflict.

“I receive many letters from children from conflict zones. Let us listen to the voice of children,” the Nuncio said in reference to the Holy Father. 

For Archbishop Bettencourt, this appeal has direct implications for Cameroon, where children and their education have been affected by insecurity and violence in parts of the country.

“Children are a blessing from God. Children are the future,” he said, adding, “Children are our hope.”

The Apostolic Nuncio in Cameroon, since his appointment in August 2023, condemned any action that prevents children from accessing education, describing such actions as unacceptable and urging all actors to reject violence in all its forms.

“Preventing children from going to school is wrong. Violence is never acceptable. Preventing children from going to school is utterly diabolical,” he said. 

The member of the Clergy of Canada’s Ottawa-Cornwall Catholic Archdiocese also called on Cameroonians to renounce both physical and verbal violence, urging society to reject “lethal weapons and violent words” and instead create conditions that allow every person to live with dignity.

“Peace begins with respect for the most vulnerable members of our community,” Archbishop Bettencourt said, linking the protection of children to the broader responsibility of building a peaceful society.

He described peace as a collective responsibility that requires people to come together, listen to one another, respect differences, seek mutual understanding and offer support to one another.