Addressing students and teachers in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde on Friday, Pope Leo
The timing was shocking. Days before Leo spoke at the Catholic University of Central Africa, US President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image on Truth Social that apparently depicted him as a Christ-like figure.
The post was deleted after religious leaders accused him of blasphemy, but before it sparked a transatlantic dispute between the pope and the sitting US president.
“What is at stake is not just the risk of being wrong, but a change in our very relationship to truth,” Leo told the crowd as he addressed more than 120,000 worshipers gathered for his landmark Mass in the stifling heat of Douala.
Leo has frequently discussed AI since his May 2025 election victory, but on Friday he took the discussion to a new level. According to Leo, AI not only poses a threat of misinformation, but also slowly dissolves the line between reality and fiction.
“Polarization, conflict, fear and violence have spread,” he said. “The challenge posed by these systems is greater than it seems. It’s not just about using new technology, but about gradually replacing reality with its simulation.”
He also denounced what he called “environmental damage” caused by rare earth extraction that fuels the growth of AI, calling it a direct challenge to the Trump administration’s resource-focused Africa strategy.
The feud between the pope and the US president intensified during Leo’s 11-day tour of Africa. After the pope criticized the US-Israel conflict with Iran, President Trump branded him “weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy.” After Leo on Thursday denounced a “handful of tyrants” ravaging the world, President Trump responded that the pope needed to grasp the reality of a “troublesome world.”
Leo has shown no signs of backing down, ignoring the sharp calls of Catholic US Vice President J.D. Vance for the church to “stick to moral issues.”
Away from Washington politics, Leo’s message was heard in a different way in Cameroon. When they arrived at the Japoma Stadium promenade, people danced and shouted “Long live the Pope!”
