FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2026
For media interviews contact
Lydia Andrews, Communications Manager
AFJN Letter to Pope Leo XIV Ahead of Visit to Africa Highlighting Key Concerns
Washington, DC – On Friday, ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s maiden visit to Africa, Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) sent a letter to The Supreme Pontiff (through the Apostolic Nuncio) urging His Holiness to highlight key areas of injustice impacting the region.
“This trip brings with it great hope for the people of Africa since it demonstrates that Africa is a priority coming so soon in Pope Leo XIV’s pontificacy” said AFJN Executive Director Dr. Steven Nabieu Rogers.
While welcoming the visit as a source of encouragement, the letter also highlights the “crisis of identity” facing Cameroonians amid the continuing “Anglophone crisis [leading] to widespread displacement, loss of life, and the breakdown of essential civil systems.”
“For several years, AFJN has been working with local dioceses in Cameroon to address the vital records crisis affecting children, which is placing many at risk of statelessness,” Dr. Rogers said. “Too many families remain unaware of how essential these documents are, especially when children are unable to sit for exams later in life.”
Beyond the documentation crisis in Cameroon, the letter also addresses “Africa’s vast mineral wealth” and “critical minerals” mining (often at the heart of conflict across the continent) and calls on “the Church’s teaching that the goods of the earth are destined for all.”
“Africa, the most-natural-resource-rich continent in the world, has immense potential for growth and development that could benefit the entire continent if done in a just manner” said Dr. Rogers. “We hope that Pope Leo will emphasize placing justice at the heart of all trade deals involving these God-given-natural resources.”
The letter also addresses the continuing violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) particularly in the “Ituri and the Kivu regions” and encourages the Pontiff to “call for greater international accountability for external actors [,] stronger protections [, and] ethical global supply chains.”
“AFJN applauds the Pope’s recent statement recalling our Christian mandate to be peacemakers not only for Iran but for all conflicts while noting the destruction caused on those most-vulnerable populations. We encourage the Pope to speak out against violent attacks by armed groups in the DRC” said Dr. Rogers.
Finally the letter emphasizes the urgent need for improved access to medicines, particularly “vaccine equity” calling on governments and pharmaceutical companies to share intellectual property “equitably” and “support local manufacturing capacity.”
“Life-saving pharmaceuticals are available but limited to those with access. It is essential that these medicines are accessible especially to those with limited resources and we encourage the Pope to call on local and international governments to work together to open up access to these key medicines and technologies” said Dr. Rogers.
Read the April 11, 2026 Letter to The Supreme Pontiff.
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The Africa Faith and Justice Network is a faith-based, non-partisan coalition of 32 US-based religious communities of men and women. Inspired by the Gospel and informed by Catholic Social Teaching, AFJN seeks to educate and advocate for just relations with Africa and to work in partnership with African people as they engage in the struggle for justice, peace, and the integrity of creation.
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Available for Interview:
Steven Nabieu Rogers, PhD
Executive Director
For media interviews contact:
Lydia Andrews, Communications Manager
