Yaounde - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday held up the peaceful coexistence of Christians and Muslims in Cameroon as an example to the rest of Africa as he met leaders of Cameroon's Muslim minority.

Benedict, on the third day of his first trip to Africa as pontiff, said that genuine religion "rejects all forms of violence and totalitarianism" and praised Cameroon for avoiding the religious strife that has blighted neighbouring Nigeria.

"May the enthusiastic cooperation of Muslims, Catholics and other Christians in Cameroon be a beacon to other African nations of the enormous potential of an interreligious commitment to peace, justice and the common good," he said.

Muslims comprise almost one quarter of the population of Cameroon, with Roman Catholics accounting for almost another 30 per cent.

After meeting the Muslim leaders, the pontiff was due to say mass in Yaounde's Amadou Ahidjo stadium, where an estimated 60,000 people were awaiting him. Thousands more were locked outside.

The mass was scheduled to last several hours.

Benedict on Wednesday met bishops to lay down his priorities for the church in Cameroon, but his visit has largely been overshadowed by controversy over remarks he made on the plane while travelling to Cameroon.

Both France and Germany criticized Benedict's statement that condoms actually aggravate the problem of HIV/AIDS.

"Such statements are a danger to public health policies and the protection of human life," French foreign affairs ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier told journalists in Paris on Wednesday. "The condom is an important element in the fight against the spread of AIDS."

Campaigners also blasted the pontiff for being out of touch with the modern world.

Benedict is due to travel to Angola on Friday before returning to the Vatican on March 23, thus closing his first papal visit to Africa.

The late Pope John Paul II visited Africa 16 times - 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. (dpa)