🌅 Good Morning! Here is your latest news update.
The Pope gives a frank and passionate speech, the likes of which have characterised his tour of Africa.
Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessTechnologyHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesHomeNewsUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessWorld of BusinessTechnology of BusinessNYSE Opening BellTechnologyWatch DocumentariesArtificial IntelligenceIntelligence RevolutionAI v the MindTech NowHealthWatch DocumentariesCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthWatch DocumentariesScienceNatural WondersClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroDiscover the WorldLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesHomeNewsSportBusinessTechnologyHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersWatch LivePope Leo criticises Equatorial Guinea prisons as he winds up Africa tour12 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleWedaeli ChibelushiandPaul NjieAFP via Getty ImagesPope Leo was greeted by cheering inmates when he visited the high security facility in BataPope Leo has criticised the treatment of prisoners in Equatorial Guinea, ahead of a visit to a jail known for its dire conditions.
He addressed the Central African nation on Wednesday at a Mass that drew some 100,000 people, including Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the country's leader and the world's long-serving president.
Pope Leo said: "My thoughts go to the poorest, to families experiencing difficulty and to prisoners who are often forced to live in troubling hygienic and sanitary conditions."
Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, a country with a poor human rights record and vast income inequalities, is the Pope's final stop on a four-nation tour of Africa.
In the evening on Wednesday, his last full day of the tour, Pope Leo is scheduled to visit an infamous prison in the economic capital, Bata.
Amnesty International has said inmates in Bata prison are "reportedly routinely beaten as punishment".
Numerous prisoners "have neither been seen nor heard from, and their relatives do not know whether they are alive or dead," the human rights organisation added.
During Wednesday's Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in the town of Mongomo, Pope Leo urged Equatoguineans "to serve the common good rather than private interests, bridging the gap between the privileged and the disadvantaged".
He also called for the country's resources to be used to improve the lives of the wider population and not just a privileged few.
"The Creator has endowed you with great natural wealth. I urge you to work together so that it may be a blessing for all," he said, warning that the future of the country depended on the people's choices.
Obiang's government has also been accused of corruption and diverting the country's oil revenues for the benefit of the elite, which it denies.
The president's son, who serves as the vice-president, was fined in a French court in 2020 for using public money to fund a luxurious lif
0 Comments