By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Pope Leo XIV on Monday called for peace and immediate end to “neocolonial tendencies” in world affairs during the first papal visit to Algeria, the capital of Algeria, a visit that comes at a moment of extraordinary broadside by President Donald Trump over his criticism of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Leo’s arrival in Algiers marks the beginning of an 11-day tour of four African nations, including Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
It is expected to bring the first U.S.-born pope deep into the growing heart of the Catholic Church in Africa.
Leo is in Algeria to promote Christian-Muslim relations in the majority Muslim nation at a time of global conflict, and to honour the locally born inspiration of his religious spirituality, St. Augustine.
The trip began, however, against the backdrop of a growing feud between the Leo and Trump over the Iran war.
Trump said he didn’t think Leo was doing a good job as pope and suggested he should “stop catering to the Radical Left.”
Leo responded by saying his appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he didn’t fear the Trump administration.
In his first remarks in Algiers, Leo linked his current appeal for peace to the country’s struggle for independence from France, which was eventually obtained in 1962.
Hundreds of thousands of people died in the revolution during which French forces tortured detainees, disappeared suspects and devastated villages as part of a strategy to maintain a grip on power.
“God desires peace for every nation, a peace that is not merely an absence of conflict but one that is an expression of justice and dignity,” Leo told a crowd of several thousand people at the monument to Algeria’s martyrs.
At a later meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and other government functionaries, Leo praised Algerians for their solidarity and respect for one another, which he said provided an important perspective today “on the global balance of power.”
“Today, this is more urgent than ever in the face of continuous violations of international law and neocolonial tendencies,” he said without elaborating, though he has previously spoken about Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Iran war and Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon.
Tebboune hailed the historic nature of Leo’s visit and the pride Algerians felt over St. Augustine, “a cherished son of this land.”
On Tuesday, Leo will visit Annaba, the modern-day Hippo where St. Augustine was bishop for three decades, and will literally walk in the footsteps of the saint.
From his first public words as pope, Leo proclaimed himself a “son of St. Augustine,” and he has repeatedly cited the church father in speeches and homilies.
