Some who fled abuses in Equatorial Guinea fear pope’s visit might legitimize longtime ruler

The Catholic Church is deeply rooted in the country

State ceremonies such as the presidential inauguration and Independence Day feature a Catholic Mass. In 2011, Obiang was inaugurated in the sprawling neo-Gothic Basilica of Immaculate Conception in his hometown, Mongomo, which is modeled on St. Peter’s Basilica and Square at the Vatican. The basilica is the largest religious building in Central Africa and the second largest in Africa, after the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Ivory Coast.

The church leaders “are very much interconnected intrinsically with the government,” Alicante said. “Part of it is the fear the government has instilled in everyone, including the church, and part of it is the monetary gains that the church derives from this government.”

“Should the church go to war against the government? Surely no,” Nwachukwu said. “Should the church swallow everything as if it were normal? No. The church has to continue preaching justice, always in defense of life, human dignity and the common good.”

Pleas for the pope to use his voice to speak against repression, abuses

More than half the population is poor, according to the World Bank. Rights groups have accused the government of using the nation’s oil wealth to enrich mainly the president’s family. One of the president’s sons is the vice president and was convicted of money laundering and embezzlement in France and sanctioned by the U.K. under similar circumstances.

Last year, the AP reported on the government’s prolonged internet shutdown in Annobon Island over protests on the debilitating practices by a construction company. The country is also one of several African nations paid millions in opaque deals with the U.S. to receive migrants deported from the U.S. to countries other than their own.

“I would like the pope to speak out in defense of the Christians who live in Equatorial Guinea and who have to endure the abuses of human rights that occur day by day at the orders of Obiang Nguema,” said Jorge Awal, 27, who now works in the private sector in Spain.…Read more by OPE ADETAYO