Africa, education, living in bubbles, and hope: Pope addresses students

The Pope addressed the young Cameroonians upon his return from Douala. He urged them not to emigrate and to build their own country's future by taking on responsibilities. He also invited them to keep a critical eye on the digital revolution and artificial intelligence tools.

The Pope explained that this university serves "as a beacon for the Church and for Africa in its search for truth, as well as its promotion of justice and solidarity." He received a warm welcome at the institution, which was founded in 1991 by the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa.

The Pontiff listened to two representatives of the university's roughly 8,500 students, including a female student who asked about supporting scholarships, drawing applause from the audience. Then, the rector shared his concern about the lack of employment opportunities for the youth. Unemployment affects more than a third of 18- to 35-year-olds in Cameroon.

According to the UN, the median age of Cameroonians is around 19, and children under 14 make up 43% of the population.

The Pope defined higher education as a "privileged place of friendship, cooperation and, at the same time, of interiority and reflection." He therefore framed the university as a response to the anthropological challenges posed by the world's current evolution, where many "seem to be losing their spiritual and ethical points of reference."

Following in the footsteps of Cardinal Newman, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV invited the students not to separate faith and intellectual research. Highlighting the continent's particular sensitivity regarding religious expression, he noted that "Africa can make a fundamental contribution to broadening the overly narrow horizons of a humanity that struggles to hope."

The Pope pointed out that the solid and lasting foundations of any society rest on "the human conscience, understood as the inner sanctuary where men and women discover themselves drawn by the voice of God."

"No society, in fact, can flourish unless it is grounded in upright consciences, formed in the truth," he added.

While urging them not to be afraid of "new things," the Pope called for proper “moral discernment,” especially in the context of the “digital revolution.” Highlighting the risks posed by the development of artificial intelligence tools and their impact on "our mentality and social environments," the Pontiff pointed out the pitfall of a kind of disembodiment.

He warned that when, within digital environments, "the otherness of persons in the flesh is neutralized, and relationships are reduced to functional responses," interactions become “optimized to the point of rendering a real encounter superfluous.”

"Dear friends, you, however, are real persons!" Pope Leo XIV exclaimed. He invited them to resist the "polarization, conflict, fear and violence" that can spread when technology leads people to live within "bubbles, impermeable to one another," without facing anyone who is different.

Amid these upheavals, the Pope, himself a former mathematics professor, explained that the Catholic university shouldn't limit itself to providing technical skills. Instead, it must shape "minds capable of discernment and hearts ready for love and service."

Asking the youth to resist the understandable tendency to migrate, the Pope urged them, "I invite you, first and foremost, to respond with an ardent desire to serve your country and to apply the knowledge you are acquiring here to the benefit of your fellow citizens."

The African continent is in true need of "witnesses of wisdom and justice," he pointed out.

The Pope specifically addressed the professors, asking them to be "intellectual guides" capable of forming their students' consciences through their "scientific rigor and personal integrity." By doing so, they will become agents of change, because "Africa, indeed, must be freed from the scourge of corruption," the Bishop of Rome explained.

He had delivered an incisive address regarding this topic during his very first speech to the country's authorities on April 15, and he warned against corruption once again during Mass in Douala on Friday morning.

His final public appearance in the country is Mass celebrated on Saturday, April 18, on the tarmac at the Yaoundé airport, before he flies to Angola at midday.