*From Bloomberg News reporter Candido Mendes*
Pope Leo XIV , who is on a four-nation African tour, condemned the exploitation of the continent’s resources and warned that the practice was a recipe for discontent and upheaval.
“Too often your lands have been looked at in order to give, or more frequently, to take something. It is necessary to break this chain of interests that reduces reality and life itself to a mere commodity,” the head of the Roman Catholic Church said in a speech in Luanda, Angola’s capital, on Saturday. “This extractive logic brings suffering, death and social and environmental disasters in every part of the world.”
[Read more here.](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-18/pope-leo-speaks-out-against-exploitation-of-africa-s-resources)
62
metacosmonaut14 hr ago
+5
Amen. From his mouth to God’s ears.
5
Maybe_In_Time19 hr ago
-16
Words mean nothing. Return everything *for a start*.
They're still not returning all the native American children's hair in possession of the Christian "schools" promptly.
-16
Dongsquad420Loki18 hr ago
+8
Wait there are like people alive that had their hair taken and some school refuse to give it back?
8
Maybe_In_Time17 hr ago
+1
Worse.
Thousands were killed and buried in unmarked graves, underneath "schools" that were just "convert or die".
Native peoples are still having to spend their own money to find them by hiring experts, since the Church can't even do that. Last year, the Pope offered SOME of that stolen children's hair to be returned to the tribes, but they couldn't even send all of it back right away.
This Pope isn't even doing that, either. F*** the Church.
[CNN ARTICLE](https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/25/americas/canada-indigenous-school-survivors-pope-apology-cmd-intl)
1
VispilloAnimi22 hr ago
+131
Why is the Pope dressed as a doctor?
Edit: spelling
131
Philo_Publius177622 hr ago
+24
What do you mean dressed as a doctor? He's wearing papal robes.
24
Timeless-Times22 hr ago
+39
It’s obviously a Red Cross doctor!
39
Philo_Publius177621 hr ago
+11
I think I'm having a spectrum moment. I don't get it. If that shit went over my head any closer, I'd be missing scalp.
11
Timeless-Times21 hr ago
+24
[Have you ever seen what a doctor looks like?](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17v8y0z9z2o)
24
Philo_Publius177621 hr ago
+13
Oh my. Lol.
13
asdhjasdhlkjashdhgf21 hr ago
+1
why is the red cross red, why is the flag of Switzerland red, why does the pope not ware tyrian purple but a red mozzetta...
the papal red mozzetta symbolizes the blood of its martyr they worship. The tyrian purple was (as of extraordinary price) reserved for roman emperors, the pope is not the roman emperor or at least not anymore.
The 'schwyz' flag is heraldic origin, no specific symbolism apart from the 'neutral' white cross to identify it.
The red cross inverts the flag of Switzerland.
White clothing for doctors became standard in the 19th century, as its origins are rooted in germ theory of disease aka laboratory work or cleanliness.
Popes ware white since Pius V (1566) as symbol of the Dominican Order from there is became tradition.
1
Timeless-Times18 hr ago
+3
The joke is that Trump clearly had a f****** dementia attack and painted himself as Jesus but because he’s a Godless lying PoS he tried to pass it off as him being depicted as a doctor
3
asdhjasdhlkjashdhgf17 hr ago
+2
i thought about that too, and imagined how that would look like nailed on the cross just as in historic literal reference. Pontius to Pilatus
2
Timeless-Times17 hr ago
+3
I’m Catholic and respectfully I’m not sure I can understand what you’re saying.
3
asdhjasdhlkjashdhgf17 hr ago
+1
the life of brain.. or was it the life of brian. /s
1
SugarDue816021 hr ago
+8
It's a joke. Trump posted a picture of himself as Jesus recently and backtracked when MAGA got mad saying, "I was dressed as a doctor!" since he was healing a dude. So now anytime anyone is in robes they're a doctor.
8
Philo_Publius177621 hr ago
+3
Got it. Someone else showed the picture to me, lol. I hadn't even seen it.
3
Whoreticultist21 hr ago
+1
References to the (now deleted) Trump image tweet of himself as Jesus, later claiming that it was actually supposed to be an image of him as a doctor.
1
Royal-Hunter389222 hr ago
+81
"When the missionaries came to Africa they had the bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land".
81
Ok-Addition126422 hr ago
+39
Now Russian oligarchs and their mercenaries have the land.
39
GenericUsername205621 hr ago
+17
And the people didn't even get bibles.
17
PixelsOfTheEast22 hr ago
+23
Its not the missionaries who are mining. Its whoever has cash. A lot of Arabs, Russian & Chinese, with Americans & Europeans.
23
RedWineWithFish21 hr ago
-13
What kind of mining are you referring to ? If it’s artisanal mining, it’s being done by Africans themselves and the product is sold to Chinese and Arab middlemen.
Industrial mining excluding oil and gas is dominated by Australian, Canadian, UK, French, South African companies.
-13
PixelsOfTheEast20 hr ago
+21
Even a cursory Google search shows this is false. Multiple Chinese mining companies operate in Africa.[Source](https://www.africansecurityanalysis.org/reports/the-chinese-mining-surge-in-africa-strategic-impacts-and-national-risk-outlook)
21
No_Albatross_911113 hr ago
+3
The adoption of socialist-inspired economic policies by African leaders after independence has been identified by researchers and economists as a significant contributor to poverty on the continent.
3
Heizard22 hr ago
+39
I like this Pope, at least he stand up for justice in this world - unlike most of our European leaders.
39
MLG_Blazer15 hr ago
+22
Europe tries doing anything --> "F*** you coloniser, get out of \[insert place\]!"
Europe doesn't do anything --> "Why don't you try doing anything about the suffering of the world??!? F*** you colonisers!"
22
Medium-Persimmon-79512 hr ago
-6
Its such a funny double standard here.Finland gets to stay mad for something that happend eighthy years ago but God forbid anyone who is still a bit salty about western imperialism. They should just get over it . After all they got good roads. Who cares about the dead . That only counts in europe .80 % of worldnews listnook summed up .
-6
MLG_Blazer10 hr ago
+2
There's no double standard. It's you have to pick either one or the other, you can hate someone - or you can ask them for help, you can't do both at the same time.
Finland hates the russians, but they don't ask them for money at the same time, do they?
You can't be like "F*** YOU, BUT ALSO GIVE ME MONEY!" - if you do that people will rightfully call you out
2
Medium-Persimmon-7959 hr ago
-3
No one was talking about money dude . We were talking about the disgusting double standards about European leaders . Not even people but apparently you felt the need to response.
I was talking about the double standards of many where historical grievances are understood , accepted in europe but everyone outside of Europe gets told to shut their mouth and get over it . Nothing to do with money.
-3
drleondarkholer20 hr ago
+5
He is certainly much braver than all of our "pragmatic" leaders.
5
Sayakai16 hr ago
+22
It helps when you don't have to be pragmatic because the nation you're responsible is a micronation with no natives.
22
drleondarkholer11 hr ago
+1
He still has to be pragmatic to an extent, in order to maintain authority over Catholic Christians. If not, that's how you get the Great Schism or Martin Luther.
While I agree that leaders of larger nations have to be extra careful, they are hypocritical way too often and screw their constituents over the long term by taking the easy way out so that they don't lose popularity.
Think, for example, of European countries that kept using Russian oil because it was cheaper.
1
Tattletail_Media16 hr ago
+5
China and Russia wouldn't give a damn, so it's just empty words.
5
Captlard14 hr ago
+4
The Church has exploited everyone for centuries lol.
4
isekai_cheese22 hr ago
+12
hmm i wonder which country exploits africa the most?
answer: >!china!<
12
Timeless-Times22 hr ago
+7
Not the Vatican lmfao
7
porquenaoambos16 hr ago
-2
I mean if you’re talking real exploitation it’s France and not particularly close lol
-2
Pierre_Francois_III12 hr ago
+3
You missed a century ?
3
KoRaZee17 hr ago
+7
China to the Vatican with a message;
IDGAF
7
Wallsworth123022 hr ago
+18
I mean I guess I can see his argument that Africa should be fairly compensated for their minerals.
But the problem is that Africa is mostly not capable of mining their minerals on their own, never have been, and likely will not be able to for a long time.
If another country makes a deal to offer them something they want in exchange for rights to mine minerals that they were never going to mine on their own anyway, how is that exploitation?
18
Fresh_Boysenberry57622 hr ago
+23
Because they get paid pennies on the dollar for the resources being extracted now. And by the time they are developed enough to extract their own resources, they are all gone and they can't benefit from it.
23
RedWineWithFish21 hr ago
+15
That is an often repeated lie. No African country is being paid “Pennies on the dollar”. They are being paid competitive royalty rates. Why don’t you tell exactly how this is being done; no emotion, no hand waving. No links to stupid websites.
15
Wallsworth123021 hr ago
+4
Ok yeah, because they aren't going to mine it on their own. So of course the countries that come in and mine it themselves are getting a better price than if they bought the refined ores directly.
We're also making the hefty assumption that Africans are *ever* going to be able to build their own mines.
4
SpiderSlitScrotums21 hr ago
+13
These ‘deals’ work because the trifling amount of money is paid to oligarchs and tyrants. It is still theft from the people. Imagine if Trump started selling off the national parks for a pittance and pocketed the profits. You would rightly consider that theft, not a ‘deal’.
13
Wallsworth123021 hr ago
-1
The people already didn't have the minerals.
-1
SpiderSlitScrotums21 hr ago
+2
Is that your definition for theft? That theft can only occur for property that you are using?
2
Wallsworth123021 hr ago
+10
That you *have*.
I'm on board with the argument to try to go about buying access to mining rights in ways that benefit the average person and don't just end up turning into another gold plated sports car for a politician.
But if you're the one building the mine, mining the ores, and refining the ores, then its OK for the price you pay for the rights to be on the territory to reflect that.
10
SpiderSlitScrotums21 hr ago
Your viewpoint is phenomenally imperialist. You think you can steal the minerals because you are leaving the people better off in the short term while robbing their future. And you assume that just because you are doing it, that you are doing it fairly. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. The same type of profit margin is not made on non-colonized mines. This, by itself, shows that the fair trade is not occurring.
0
Wallsworth123021 hr ago
+4
Idunno I guess so. Its not stealing if you pay for it. You're also making some hefty assumptions about how soon it will be before African countries develop the capability to mine that stuff in their own.
You talk about robbing their future, but how far in the future do you have in mind? If the world leaves those countries alone and never pays them for mining rights, how many generations are you expecting it to take before they do it themselves?
4
spongue20 hr ago
+2
Why do you think they might never be able to?
2
Fresh_Boysenberry57621 hr ago
+6
You really believe that Africans are fundamentally incapable of learning how to mine the resources in their nations..?
6
Wallsworth123021 hr ago
+4
Idunno man. That would be cool. But they're a really long way away from that. Like a really really really long way away from that.
Either way, I don't think its fundamentally exploitative to pay a country for the right to build your own mine, extract the ores yourself, and refine the ores yourself.
4
Plastic-Fox029319 hr ago
+4
Well that's oddly late but ok
4
BlueDolphins2821 hr ago
+3
I must say this guy has balls. He’s calling out Europe now.
This won’t sit well with a lot of people.
3
Pierre_Francois_III12 hr ago
+6
You're late by more than 70 years, it's Russia & China
6
hufflepuff77715 hr ago
+7
The pope runs a billion dollar org that could single handedly erase poverty if he wanted to. He’s no hero
7
Fteven18 hr ago
+3
What happened to returning the artifacts stolen from Africa as discussed by the last pope?
3
FrostyExplanation_3712 hr ago
+1
Oh I get it, so this is the "Virtue Signaling" Pope this generation has been waiting for.
Any news on him or the Vatican actually doing some good in the world? Still no? Huh...
1
Flimsy-Ad-715715 hr ago
Love this guy
0
Flicksterea17 hr ago
+1
It's all well and good to make speeches from your ivory tower but your words mean nothing, Leo. A rousing speech won't change how vile humanity has become.
1
whverman20 hr ago
-10
If only Catholicism hadn't caused all these problems in the first place!
-10
Random_Words_182714 hr ago
What about the exploitation of Africa's people by trying to convert them?
0
andy_moshi11 hr ago
-1
Thank you Leo!
-1
anacondra22 hr ago
-5
While I dig what this Pope is saying, he pretty much could have been wearing a hotdog costume when he said it.
-5
Choice_Note_919822 hr ago
-20
Why didn’t he speak out about the murdering of the 30000 Iranian protestors by the IRGC? He was totally silent about that. Hypocrite. That’s right…they were not catholic.
-20
FlatwormBig551421 hr ago
+10
He's never attacked anybody directly. He's always just advocated for peace. Now that his advocating for peace involves the U.S., Republicans are upset about it.
[https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/pope-calls-peace-and-dialogue-protests-continue-iran](https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/pope-calls-peace-and-dialogue-protests-continue-iran)
10
NewCrashingRobot21 hr ago
+13
He did on 11 January https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2026/01/11/pope-leo-xiv-condemns-violence-in-iran-syria-and-ukraine/
13
porquenaoambos16 hr ago
+2
He did speak about it, I just think you’re unhappy he’s calling out the things outside of the global south.
70 Comments