Pope calls on Cameroon bishops to help poor and guard family values

Mar 18, 2009, 13:34 GMT

Yaounde - Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday asked African bishops to protect family values and shield the poor from the effects of globalization as he began the second day of his first visit to Africa as pontiff.

'The difficulties arising from the impact of modernity and secularization on traditional society inspire you to defend vigorously the essential values of the African family,' he told around 30 bishops in Cameroon.

'In the context of globalization... the church takes a particular interest in those who are most deprived,' he added. 'The bishop's mission leads him to be the defender of the rights of the poor.'

The pontiff also warned that the church was facing challenges from sects and evangelical movements and appeared to call on church leaders to ensure that priests stick to their celibacy vows.

'I urge you...to be especially vigilant regarding the faithfulness of priests and consecrated persons to the commitments made,' he said. 'The authenticity of their witness requires that there be no dichotomy between what they teach and the way they live each day.'

Before meeting the bishops, Benedict met President Paul Biya, who is one of Africa's longest-ruling leaders and faces accusations of attempting to stifle political opposition.

Even before his plane touched down in Cameroon on Tuesday, Benedict had caused a stir by saying that condoms actually aggravated the problem of HIV/AIDS.

Campaigners in Cameroon on Wednesday condemned the pope's statement, saying the Church's stance set back the fight against the disease.

During his trip, Benedict is set to meet with political and church leaders, lead young Catholics in prayer at two mass rallies and visit charities.

He flies to Angola on Friday for the second leg of his visit.

The late Pope John Paul II visited Africa 16 times. That was more visits than he made to any other continent.

In contrast, Benedict's only visit to the continent where the Catholic Church is growing the fastest, was as a cardinal, to the Congolese capital Kinshasa in 1987.