Pope to meet with Muslims, celebrate Mass in Cameroon stadium

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Pope Benedict XVI was set to meet with representatives of Cameroon's sizable Muslim minority Thursday, shortly before celebrating Mass for thousands of faithful from Africa's expanding, vibrant Catholic flock in the capital's football stadium. The morning meeting with Muslim representatives at the Apostolic Nunciature, where Benedict has been lodging on his first African pilgrimage as pope, is closed to the public. The pope is expected to greet the participants with a brief speech. Muslims make up some 22 percent of Cameroon's population; Roman Catholics account for 27 percent of the West African nation's people. Animists account for some 27 percent, while Protestants make up 18 percent. Christians and Muslims largely coexist without problems in Cameroon.