Pope calls for justice and closing income gap in Equatorial Guinea Mass with presidential family

 Pope Leo XIV urged Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday to work for justice and to close the gap “between the privileged and the disadvantaged” as he opened a day drawing attention to the vast income inequalities and human rights abuses in the Central African country.

Leo began the day with Mass in Mongomo, an eastern city on the border with Gabon that has experienced major development since Equatorial Guinea’s oil boom in the 1990s. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been accused of widespread corruption and authoritarianism, comes from Mongomo and the city, with opulent buildings and curated gardens behind gilt-tipped gates, has benefited from government investment and infrastructure, even though no official institutions are located here.

Obiang and his wife were on hand for Leo’s Mass, as was their son, Teodoro “Teddy” Nguema Obiang. The son, who is the country’s vice president, was convicted of embezzling millions of