Pope Leo’s address to the academic community
Yaoundé, Catholic University of Central Africa
Friday, April 17, 2026
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Excellency, Grand Chancellor, Dear Brothers in the Episcopate, Mr. Rector, Dear Members of the Academic Staff, Dear Students, Dear Representatives of the Authorities, Ladies and Gentlemen!
It is with great joy that I address you at the Catholic University of Central Africa, an exceptional institution for scientific research, knowledge dissemination, and the education of young people.
I would like to express my gratitude to the academic authorities for their warm welcome and constant dedication to education.
I hope that this institution, founded in 1989 by the Association of Central African Bishops’ Conferences, will serve as a lighthouse for the Church and Africa in their search for truth and promotion of justice and solidarity.
Today, more than ever, it is crucial for universities—especially Catholic colleges—to become true communities of life and research.
These communities should introduce students and faculty to the fraternity of knowledge in order to share the communal joy of truth and deepen its meaning and practical implications.
The Gospel and the teachings of the Church promote this today through open and generous collaboration with ideas that foster the growth of universal human consciousness and an authentic culture of encounter.
This culture brings together all authentic and vital cultures through the exchange of their gifts in the light of God’s love for all his creatures.
As Pope Benedict XVI emphasized, “Truth is the ‘Logos’ (Word) that creates ‘Dialogos’ (dialogue), that is, communication and communion.”
Indeed, at a time when many people seem to be losing their spiritual and ethical bearings, becoming trapped in individualism, appearances, and hypocrisy, the university is, above all, a place of friendship, cooperation, interior life, and reflection.
Since its inception in the Middle Ages, its founders have set Truth as its goal.
Today, lecturers and students are also called to make the common search for truth their goal and their way of life. As St. John Henry Newman wrote in The Idea of the University, “God is poured out in all true principles, all phenomena are merged in him.”
On the other hand, what Newman called “kindly light”, that is, “the light of faith, because it is linked to the truth of love, is not alien to the material world, because love is always lived in body and soul; the light of faith is the light incarnate, which has its source in the luminous life of Jesus.
It also enlightens matter, trusts in its order, knows that in it an ever-wider path of harmony and understanding is opening.
In this way, faith exerts a beneficial influence on the gaze of science: it invites the scientist to remain open to reality with all its inexhaustible richness.
Faith stimulates the critical sense, because it does not allow research to be satisfied with its formulas, and helps them to understand that nature is always greater.
By inviting us to marvel at the mystery of creation, faith broadens the horizons of reason to better illuminate the world revealed by scientific research, which is constantly advancing”
(Francis, Encyclical Letter to Science). Lumen fidei, 34).
Dear friends, Africa can contribute to broadening the narrow horizons of a humanity that is difficult to hope for.
On your great continent, researchers face the particular challenge of embracing interdisciplinary, international, and intercultural perspectives.
Today, we must urgently consider faith in contemporary cultural contexts and challenges to reveal its beauty and credibility, especially in settings marked by injustice, inequality, conflict, and material and spiritual degradation.
A nation’s greatness cannot be measured solely by the abundance of its natural resources or the material wealth of its institutions.
No society can develop successfully without righteous consciences educated in truth.
In this sense, your university’s motto, “At the service of truth and justice,” reminds us that the human conscience—understood as the interior sanctuary where men and women hear the voice of God—is the foundation on which to build a just and stable society.
Forming free and sanctified consciences is essential for the Christian faith to be seen as a fully human proposal capable of transforming individuals’ and society’s lives, bringing about prophetic changes in the face of tragedies and poverty, and encouraging an ever-deeper search for God.
Thanks to the conscience, moral discernment is formed, allowing us to freely seek what is true and honest. When the conscience is enlightened and upright, it becomes a source of coherent action directed toward goodness, justice, and peace.
In contemporary societies, including Cameroon, the moral points of reference that once guided community life are eroding.
Consequently, there is now a tendency to superficially accept practices that were previously considered unacceptable.
This phenomenon can be partly explained by social changes, economic factors, and political forces that influence individual and collective behavior.
Christians, especially young African Catholics, should not fear “new things.”
In particular, your university can educate pioneers of the new humanism amid the digital revolution.
The African continent is well aware of its appealing aspects as well as the dark side of environmental and social devastation caused by the greedy search for raw materials and rare earth elements.
Do not look away; it is a service to the truth and to all humanity.
Without this educational effort, passive adaptation to prevailing logic will be mistaken for competence, and the loss of freedom will be mistaken for progress.
This is especially true of artificial intelligence systems, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in organizing our mental and social environments.
As with any significant historical transformation, this one demands not only technical proficiency but also a humanistic education that can reveal the economic logic, common prejudices, and forms of power that influence our perception of reality.
In digital environments designed to exert influence, interactions are optimized to such an extent that meeting in the real world becomes superfluous.
The difference between flesh and blood is neutralized, and relationships are reduced to functional reactions.
Dearest, you are real persons! Creation has a body, breath, and life that must be obeyed and protected.
It “groans and groans” (Romans 8:22), just like each one of us.
When simulation becomes the norm, human discernment atrophies and our social bonds become locked in self-referential systems that no longer expose us to reality.
We then live in impenetrable bubbles, feeling threatened by anyone who is different and growing accustomed to isolation.
This leads to polarization, conflict, fear, and violence.
It’s not just a matter of making a mistake; it’s about the transformation of our relationship with the truth.
The Catholic university has a primary responsibility in this area.
It does not merely transmit expertise; it also shapes minds capable of discernment and hearts ready for love and service.
Above all, it prepares future leaders, civil servants, specialists, and other social activists to carry out their duties in an ethical manner and to serve the common good.
Dear sons and daughters of Cameroon,
Dear students,
In the face of an understandable migratory trend that may lead us to believe that a better future can easily be found elsewhere, I first invite you to respond with a fervent desire to serve your country. Make use of the knowledge you are acquiring here for the benefit of your fellow citizens.
This is the purpose of your university, which was founded thirty-five years ago to educate pastors and laypeople who are involved in social life. They are witnesses to the wisdom and justice that the African continent needs.
In this context, I would like to recall the words of St. John Paul II: “The Catholic university was born from the heart of the Church” (Ex Corde Ecclesiae). Ex Corde Ecclesiae 1) and participates in the Church’s mission to proclaim the liberating truth.
This affirmation refers, above all, to an intellectual and spiritual requirement: the search for truth in all its dimensions with the conviction that faith and reason are mutually reinforcing, not opposed to each other.
Furthermore, he emphasizes that the faculty and students of the university are dedicated to the Church’s mission of “proclaiming the Good News of Christ to everyone, engaging in dialogue with various disciplines, and promoting a deeper understanding and application of truth in personal and social life” (Francis, Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium, 5).
In the face of the challenges of our time, the Catholic University occupies a unique and irreplaceable place. In this context, let us recall the pioneers of this institution who laid the foundations on which you are building today.
As an example for everyone, I remember Fr. Barthélemy Nyom, who was rector for nearly all of the 1990s.
Following his example, always remember that this university aims to contribute to the integral formation of the human person, in addition to transmitting knowledge and training professional skills. Spiritual and human accompaniment is an essential dimension of a Catholic university’s identity. Through spiritual formation, academic pastoral initiatives, and moments of reflection, students are invited to deepen their interior lives and orient their commitments to society according to authentic and solid values.
Dear students, learn to become builders of the future of your countries and of a more just and humane world.
Dear Lecturers,
Your role is crucial.
For this reason, I invite you to embody the values you wish to convey, especially justice, equality, integrity, a spirit of service, and responsibility.
Africa and the world need people who strive to live according to the Gospel and dedicate their skills to the greater good.
Do not betray this noble ideal!
Be more than just intellectual guides; be role models whose scientific integrity and personal honesty shape the consciences of your students.
Africa needs to be liberated from the scourge of corruption.
Such an awareness must be instilled in young people from an early age, thanks to the moral integrity, selflessness, and coherence of their educators and teachers.
Day after day, you lay the necessary foundation for building a coherent moral and intellectual identity. By bearing witness to the truth, especially in the face of ideological and fashionable illusions, you create an environment in which academic excellence naturally combines with human integrity.
Ladies and gentlemen, the main virtue that should characterize the university community is humility. Regardless of our role or age, we must remember that we are all students and companions in the school of the one Master who loved the world so much that he sacrificed his life for it.
Thank you, and may God bless you all
