Editorial

30, May 2022

Cameroon’s missed foreign policy potential in Africa ⁰

In April, Cameroon renewed a military cooperation agreement with Russia as Moscow intensified its offensive in Ukraine. The timing certainly supports Russia’s claim that its international isolation is relative. It also raises questions about Cameroon’s foreign policy at a time when African countries’ votes in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly are under scrutiny.

The military agreement reflects a trend in Cameroon’s foreign and trade policy that entails keeping great powers at equal distances. While the Central African country is one of the largest recipients of French development cooperation in sub-Saharan Africa, its biggest creditor is by far China. Cameroon also maintains close foreign and trade ties with the United Kingdom, United States and Germany.

This international balancing act loses its appeal when it comes to Africa and the African Union (AU), however. In May, Cameroon chaired the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) after being re-elected to the council for a three-year term. The relative indifference to this rotating chairship by Cameroonian decision makers, opinion leaders and society contrasts with the substantial diplomatic efforts taken to secure the country’s re-election.

The PSC rotating chair usually helps a government push regional and thematic priorities, and demonstrate its diplomatic ability to address continental issues. For Cameroon, it’s difficult to identify clear goals in the AU, apart from preventing the Anglophone crisis from reaching the PSC agenda. The council’s discussion of the crisis could see a peace support operation deployed to the country, which Cameroon would consider intrusive.

Cameroon’s indecisive continental foreign and trade policy can also be seen in Central Africa

Yaoundé is also poised to guarantee constant AU support for the logistical base of the African Standby Force located in Douala and the regional Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin.

Despite the many contemporary transnational issues facing Africa – an expanding terrorist threat, activating the African Continental Free Trade Area, and the resurgence of coups – Cameroon’s policy towards the AU and Africa remains unclear. It’s also characterised by limited engagement at the heads of state level, where AU decisions are ultimately made.

President Paul Biya is notorious for missing AU summits. Despite this, Cameroon has managed to get its nationals elected as commissioners in the AU’s Konaré/Ping Commissions (2003-11) and the first Faki Commission (2017-21). But these political appointments hardly compensate for the few Cameroonians in the AU Commission’s senior leadership or the absence of shared guidelines for the country’s action in the AU.

Cameroon can sometimes mobilise political capital to secure positions in the AU – such as the current head of the Reform Implementation Unit. However the country doesn’t exploit its strategic and unique location at the crossroads between the Francophonie and the Commonwealth, Sahel and Equatorial Forest, and Western and Central Africa.

The focus on the president and his personal preferences prevents diplomacy from being led by principles

Cameroon’s indecisive foreign and trade policy can also be seen in Central Africa. Based on the size of its economy, demography and transport infrastructure, the country could play an anchor role in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), which comprises six countries using the CFA franc.

But the government rarely uses this position of strength to boost Cameroon’s regional interests. Despite being the gateway to the sea for Chad and the Central African Republic, Cameroon lacks the vision and strategy to harness the strong positions of its private companies in those countries.

In the wider Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Cameroon’s power is challenged by oil-rich Angola and the war-torn but mineral-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Rwanda’s increasingly active security and trade diplomacy in the region will be interesting to watch as power relations are redefined.

While CEMAC comprises countries solely committed to Central Africa, ECCAS members also have regional allegiances to Southern and East Africa. Examples of the latter include the DRC, Angola, Burundi and Rwanda. The planned merger of the two regional organisations would probably move the centre of gravity east- and southwards, diluting Cameroon’s influence in the bloc.

Cameroon’s foreign policy is notoriously obscure because official documents are rarely made public

Cameroon’s foreign policy is notoriously obscure because official documents outlining its interests and strategic goals are rarely made public. Even Cameroonian diplomats struggle to give a unified view of the country’s actions in Africa and internationally. There is no single forum convened for diplomats and their hierarchy, and the last conference of ambassadors was held in 1985.

The heavy focus on the president and his personal preferences has prevented Cameroon’s diplomacy from being led by principles. It has also been the main obstacle to the Foreign Affairs Ministry driving foreign policy rather than the presidency. But as instability grows in Central Africa, clear guidelines for Cameroon’s regional and continental engagement will become more crucial than ever.

Cameroon’s foreign policy should start with designing a neighbourhood policy. As a leading trading partner in Central Africa, Cameroon has a vested interest in the region’s stability. This makes it surprising that other less affected states increasingly settle crises on its doorstep.

A clear vision based on Cameroon’s medium- and long-term interests in CEMAC, ECCAS and the AU could guide diplomats and other foreign policy actors. Taking more responsibility for settling violent conflicts in Central Africa would boost Cameroon’s stature in the region and build skills among its civilian and military cadres.

The government has tried hard to prevent the Anglophone conflict from being considered by the AU and UN. It could learn from Rwanda and Chad, whose regional military diplomacy has successfully shielded them from international criticism in recent years.

To reposition Central Africa and Africa in Cameroon’s foreign policy, the country also needs to rectify the widespread bias which sees only diplomatic postings in Global North capitals as prestigious. Neglecting the low-hanging fruit of African diplomacy will damage the country’s image.

Culled from Defense Web

26, May 2022

Federal Republic of Ambazonia: Yerima confronts the French challenge in South Africa ⁰

Viva EFF VIVA

VIVA the Commander In Chief Julius Malema Viva

Viva the Spirit of Tata Nelson Mandela Viva

Viva the spirit of Robert Sibukwe viva

Viva the spirit of Solomon Mahtlangu viva

Viva the spirit of Steve Biko viva

Viva the spirit of Mama winnie Viva

Viva the spirit of Thomas Sankara Viva

Viva the Spirit of Kwame Nkruma Viva

Viva the spirit of Kris Hani Viva

Viva Africa for Africans Viva

Pantse Corruption Pantse, Pantse colonial dictatorial regimes Pantse, Pantse to western imperialism Pantse

On behalf of the Ambazonian people, I want to thank the leadership of the EFF, the Commander in Chief, Julius Malema, commissars and fellow fighters for giving us this opportunity to ask France to leave Africa.

Revolutionary Sisters and Brothers, I am here today in exile standing for the people Ambazonia, a land annexed, colonised and occupied by La Republique du Cameroun. In the 50s Ambazonia was far ahead of our present colonisers in terms of Statecraft, public institutions, governance, democracy, human rights and law and order. We lived in a democratic society with unimpeded free trade ideas.

Ambazonia is a country with her own international borders between the Republic of Cameroon, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. Activists across Africa have watched in amazement as the EFF in its short existence have successfully championed the course of the African people and has spoken severally about the plight of the Ambazonian people.

Just like the EFF, Ambazonia is fighting French Imperialism in West Africa. Yes, the same French imperialist that murdered the South African Anti-Apartheid Giant Dulcie September in Paris in 1988,

after she received documents implicating France in the nuclear power program of the Apartheid regime.

After murdering the leaders of the independence movement next door in La Republique du Cameroun, France imposed a neo-colonial regime there, a despotic society ruled by horse whip, a despotism that soon became an object of reverence and worship in that country.

We fell prey to such an atrocious dispensation which has nothing to offer except blood, tears, poverty and a wretched and dehumanised existence. We have never had any ties with France.

In 1960 France used their regime in Cameroon to annex Ambazonia.

For many years there have been waves of protest over the second-class status that is forced on our people. We wrote to the United nations and the International community petitions upon petitions about the plight of the Ambazonian people and they gave us a deaf ear.

But there comes a time when a people are bound by fate, history and the action of the International community to fully take responsibility of their own destiny and decide whether to be prisoners of their past tragedy or be architects of their own future as human beings living in freedom and Dignity.

It is a new day, and like the EFF, a new crop of Ambazonian activists, the never again generation are standing up against French imperialism and defending our neighbourhoods one block at a time in the senseless war declared on us by the neo colonial regime of Cameroon sponsored by France.

Our liberation struggle has been on for over 60 years but it reached its peak in 2016 when the neo colonial regime in Cameroon imposed a French colonial legal and educational system on our Land. Activists called for a general strike but the regime responded by declaring war on us.

As I speak millions of our people have been forced to walk away from everything they hold dear to flee for their lives, as the Cameroon army has embarked on a war of extermination on our communities. A genocide is going on.

On May 18, 2018, the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa reported that since 2016 the Cameroon military has burnt more than 60 Ambazonian villages to the ground, and in some cases, elderly people who could not flee before the soldiers arrived were burnt alive in their homes.

More than 40,000 of our people have been executed. Over 3 million are internally displayed and over a million are living as refugees in Ghana, Nigeria, the Mexican borders, here in South Africa and other countries around the world.

Today the 25th of May, 2022, will make 1601 days since the Cameroon regime with the help of the Nigerian government abducted our leader, Sisiku Julius AyukTabe and 11 of his top aides at a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. It took over 120 days when they were taken into custody for them to have had access to a lawyer or being brought before a judge, or charged with with any crime. They were tried in a military tribunal for fighting for the basic rights of the Ambazonian people and sentenced for life.

The rape of women and girls, the killing of pregnant women, the killing of children in school, from school and to school, the execution of our brothers, buried in mass graves, the destruction of the crops of our people to impose hunger on them, the spreading of STDs and other infectious diseases is the signature of the French Cameroon regime’s blood thirsty army in our communities since December 2017.

These French Cameroon’s military scorch earth policies, raping of school children and women are all architected in boardrooms and political offices in France as part of the neo colonial project in Ambazonia and 14 other so called French African states, where the French are after nothing else but our natural resources.

We demand France to leave Ambazonia because we have never had any ties of any kind with France.

Ambazonia is not part of the French sphere of influence in Africa.

We demand that France ends its assistance to FRENCH Cameroon in that country’s Colonisation of Ambazonia and that country’s war of genocide in Ambazonia.

Our comrades from Mali are here today. They have similar cries and these cries are similar across the so called 14 French African states and Ambazonia. Mali was one of the 64 countries in the UN out of the 97 who voted for the Independence of Ambazonia on the 21st of April 1961. Ambazonians are grateful and will continue to join you to fight neo colonialism across Africa.

I want to use this opportunity to make this appeal to EFF and all African progressive movements to join hands with us to fight France repression, oppression, killings, looting and plunder of our resources. Africa deserves better and we can build the Africa our forefathers dreamed of by working in solidarity. NATO stood in solidarity for Ukraine, as Africans, we must stand in solidarity for all Africans.

Mama Africa is pregnant to deliver another child, Ambazonia on the African West coast. She needs the support of the brother from Marikana. We count on your support fighters and comrades. And, as the Government of the United States has given temporary protection status to Ambazonians who fled the war of genocide and are in the US, let me use this opportunity to call on the South African government and other governments in Africa that as Africans in solidarity, may your governments give protection to Ambazonians fleeing the genocidal war and even do better by speaking up against the human rights atrocities of the Cameroon regime and support the calls for a negotiated settlement of the senseless in humane war on our people

As comrades and fighters for a free and developed Africa, we must always note that, Africa’s fight against neo colonilism rejects attempts by France or any power to come back through the back door to exploit Africa.

Africa is for Africans and everything underneath our feet is owned by Africans, to develop Africa. It’s time we take back Africa, own our land and enjoy the milk that flows from mama Africa. That time is now to kick France out of the shores of Africa or any imperialist regime which want to come through the back door.

Long live Africa

Long Live EFF Long Live

God bless the Federal republic of Ambazonia.

Thank you!

Comrade Dabney Yerima

Vice president, federal republic of Ambazonia

24, May 2022

Angwafo III of Mankon: The Fon who created countless Southern Cameroons refugees ⁰

97 year-old Fon Angwafo III of Mankon is no more! To be accurate dead and very few Southern Cameroonians will mourn his passing. Many deep within the Mankon Kingdom have opined that they will spit on his grave. The legacy of the man who ruled Mankon for over 60 years will forever be dominated by his monstrous destruction of a onetime prosperous African kingdom.

For over 40 years, the former First Vice National President of the ruling CPDM party developed casual cruelty and callous disregard for the lives of Bamenda children and this policy was and remains completely in keeping with the cruelty and barbarism of the French Cameroun Biya-led government that has been a brake on Cameroon progress and development for far too long.

Yet, though Fon Angwafo III’s solid defense of infanticide may have guaranteed him a first-class ticket on an Albatross plane to hell, going by the gushing tributes to his legacy which have emanated from corrupt Cameroon media houses and government officials, you would think that Fon Angwafo III died a martyr for Anglophone children’s rights and decency.

Fon Angwafo III’s conduct as a traditional ruler in politics was shameful, disgusting and disgraceful and leaves British Southern Cameroonians in no doubt that they have all along been led by men for whom brutality is a virtue and compassion a vice.

His anti Fru Ndi/SDF stance and his support for the state of emergency in Bamenda immediately after the 1990 presidential elections were positively medieval in scope and in their impact on the Bamenda society. A Cameroon Post Newspaper 1998 analysis of this impact, revealed that as a direct consequence:

Hundreds of people died in the North West

Hundreds of Bamenda children died or were made ill

One thousand children under the age of 5 suffered malnourishment in the entire North West Province.

When mortality in under five-year-old children rose in Bamenda, Fon Angwafo III was pictured holding an umbrella over the head of Governor Bell Luc Rene who was later nicknamed Bell Luc Grenade-as he reportedly ordered the use of thousands of grenades against civilian population in Bamenda.

All Cameroon government military operations in Bamenda from 1990 till date were heartily defended by Fon Angwafo III. Indeed, so cruel and vicious were his actions that he requested Biya to sack Professor Ephraim Ngwafor and replaced him with his biological son Fru Angwafo as minister.

Fon Angwafo III’s legacy, it should be pointed out, is not completely dominated by his stance on the killing of Bamenda children and elderly persons. Fon Angwafo has a river of Bafut blood on his hands too, given the fanaticism with which he pushed for raids by Francophone army soldiers on the Bafut palace. Yaoundé and its Francophone dominated military did so, without bothering with the inconvenience of seeking the North West Fons approval.

The grim result was that Cameroon government troops raided the Bafut palace and killed palace guards including some royals.

Before his passing on Saturday May 21, 2022, the Southern Cameroons Interim Government estimated that 3000 people had been killed with a further 1500 injured. In addition, several houses and apartment buildings were damaged by Francophone soldiers under the watchful eyes of Fon Angwafo III of Mankon.

Not for nothing that the late Kum Set Ewin of the Herald Newspaper described all French Cameroun wars in Mezam as “Fon Angwafo’s Wars”. He was their most zealous advocate within a Biya regime that is chock-full of evil men and women – for whom morality is measured not in championing the virtues of peace but in pushing for war.

Fon Angwafo III is going to his grave at age 97 as one of the most notorious leaders of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate who became one of the most servile apostles of French Cameroun hard power, responsible thereby for creating countless Southern Cameroons war refugees.

Born on May 1, 1925, into the prominent and influential royal family of Mankon in the Bamenda Grass field region, Solomon Anyeghamotü Ndefru attended the Agrey Memorial College Arochuku, Eastern Nigeria, from 1945-1950, where he obtained the Senior Cambridge Secondary School Certificate.

He enrolled at the University College Ibadan, Nigeria, and graduated with a Diploma in Agriculture in 1953. Until he was enthroned as the twentieth king of Mankon in 1959, he was the Chief of Agricultural Technicians in Wum, Menchum County.

Fon S.A.N. Angwafo III of Mankon was reportedly one of the most educated traditional rulers at the dawn of independence. He served Cameroon in various capacities including as First National Vice-President of Paul Biya´s Cameroon People´s Democratic Movement (CPDM). He accompanied the Francophone dictator to Auckland, New Zealand, in 1995 when Cameroon was admitted into the Commonwealth of Nations.

Mankon has been greatly affected by the conflict in Southern Cameroons with scores of private homes and shops across Alachu, Matsam, and Muwatsu destroyed.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

15, May 2022

May 20: Will Mr. Biya be back before the celebrations? ⁰

Cameroon’s long-serving president, Paul Biya, was air-lifted yesterday in an air ambulance to an undisclosed European country on health grounds, though the government’s press release issued before the “monarch” left the country said he was going on a short private visit.

But no Cameroonian can be fooled by the government’s press release. It is just one of them, full of lies and cover-ups.

The 90-year-old Biya is gradually breaking down like 50-year-old Lada vehicle which has been driven on an untarred road for five decades.

At 90, nobody expects Mr. Biya to be in the pink of health. Years of unnecessary stress, the burden and responsibility of power, alcohol and his exaggerated epicurean sensibilities have taken a toll on the president’s health.

Sources close to the Unity Palace have disclosed that Mr. Biya’s health had deteriorted very rapidly and that was why a medicalized aircraft was brought in to haul him to Europe.

Though no specific European country was mentioned in the government’s press release, it was clear that Mr. Biya was heading to his usual destination – Switzerland – where he has a crowd of medical doctors who attend to him at very short notice.

Switzerland is his ideal location because he has investments there and there are few Brigade Anti-Sardinard elements there. Switzerland is also noted for its security and secrecy and Mr. Biya needs a lot of that to mask his lies.

However, given Mr. Biya’s failing health and age, will he be back in the country for the May 20, 2022 celebrations?

Many analysts hold that it will be a miracle for him to return in time for the May 20 events.

According to a source at the Presidency, many people are scared that he might not return as many of his supporters would wish.

The source, which elected anonymity, said that the president had been in excruciating pain for weeks, adding that he returned to Yaoundé from his native Mvomeka’a on an helicopter because of his failing health and the speed with which a foreign doctor was brought in to stabilize him spoke volumes to the president’s desperation.

“He was in pain and even those pictures at the airport before his trip gave away his desperation. Take a look at some of those pictures and you will see his own desperation on his face. It was like he was scared that he might not return alive,” the source said.

“Over the last few weeks, people at the Unity Palace have been very concerned. The president is more withdrawn and it appears he does not like to see anybody,” the source added.

“It is like he is also losing his mind at a very fast rate. What you saw during the 2021 AfCON final was just the tip of the iceberg. The situation is alarming and many people working at the Unity Palace hold that the end is near,” the source revealed.

“There is not much his entourage can hide. At 90, very few people are always in good health. Trying to deceive the people of Cameroon that Biya is the picture of health at that age is like telling the world that a dead lion can be brought back to life after having been killed by the bullets of a poacher. Biya is gone. His men must come to terms with that,” he underscored.

“Of course, regarding the upcoming celebrations, Cameroonians should be ready for annoying stories. The CPDM and its notorious spin doctors will come up with some irritating stories. The event might be canceled and a message will be read over the radio and TV for us. I am sure the message has already been taped,” he said.

“What should be of concern now to Cameroonians should be what will happen to the country once the bad news comes. Are our institutions solid enough? Will the constitution be respected? I see a lot of infighting taking place and multiple camps are springing up, with all of them thinking that they deserve the presidency after Paul Biya. I am really scared of the post-Biya era in Cameroon,” he concluded.

According to our source, his fear is based on the many issues created by the Biya regime. He pointed to tribalism, nepotism, corruption, youth unemployment, poor health and road infrastructure, as well as the conflict in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

He stressed that it would take a lot of sacrifices and a mindset change for a new Cameroon to be re-engineered, adding that ordinary Cameroonians must accept that they too have to help the new government in its efforts to point the country in the right direction.

Cameroon is in a pretty mess and it will take the patriotism of all Cameroonians to turn things around. The new leaders have to be hardworking and determined if they must make significant changes in the country, he said.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

14, May 2022

Cameroon: Our retirees are hurting as inflation bites ⁰

Retirement is usually a challenging period and it could be more challenging in a country like Cameroon where there are no benefits which come with being a senior citizen and the policy environment leaves much to be desired.

Retirement implies the retiree will be losing about two-thirds of their disposable income and if an entire salary could not suffice when they were in active duty; there is just no miracle to demonstrate that one-third of the salary will serve a better purpose.

In Cameroon, public service salaries are derisory and pensions are really paltry which makes retirement in Cameroon a living hell. Most retirees around the world usually have a fixed income, especially if they do not have supplemental incomes which could enable them to cushion the impact of inflation and that of other cyclical events.

Over the last two years, food and housing prices have been escalating and this is really blighting the lives of Cameroonians, especially that of retirees who do not know where to turn to. Time is no longer on their side. Energy levels are down and some still have young children to take care of.

These unfortunate events are creating frustration and depression among the country’s retirees, most of whom are already dealing with age-related diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

In well-established systems, retirement at 60 comes with lots of perks. Being a senior citizen brings many consoling advantages such as reduced cost of medicine, highly subsidized flat-rate health insurance, exemptions from certain taxes, reduced transport fares within the country, free gym membership, free diabetes and blood pressure medication and others.

These perks usually reduce the fear of retirement for people living in such societies. Cameroon is still struggling with lots of challenges and bad governance and corruption have made things worse, causing some population segments such as retirees and the elderly to be forgotten in the country’s economic policy planning.

But all is not lost. There will always be issues, but if the country’s authorities are willing and ready to embrace new ways, a lot can change for the better in a short time.

Instead of allowing Cameroonians to scramble for financial solutions when they retire, the government, that is, if it is ready to change its ways, can set up a national registered retirement savings plan for workers across the country which will enable all Cameroonian workers to take home a lump sum when they retire.

This scheme will be different from what the National Social Insurance Fund (CNPS) is currently running.

CNPS manages monthly retirement pension, but the registered retirement scheme will enable each Cameroonian worker to take home a lump sum on the day they retire, while waiting for CNPS to remit their monthly payments.

This scheme will require that each worker pays in a certain amount throughout their working life and this amount will be used for investments which will give them additional income at the end of their careers.

Each worker, be they in the private or public sector, will have to indicate the amount to be deducted from their salary at source.

For example, some people may only have the financial capacity for CFAF 20,000 while others may opt to contribute CFAF 30,000 per month. Informal sector workers may also join if they so wish and this will help them during their rainy day.

A Cameroonian who successfully contributes for 30 years, will be sure of CFAF 7.2 million plus dividends which will be calculated based on an agreed principle.

Going home with almost CFAF 10 million will be heart-warming and therapeutic. For those without homes, that money could be invested in a modest retirement home in the village.

Assuming that, on average, each working Cameroonian pays in CFAF 20,000 per month and also assuming that there are 10 million Cameroonians contributing to the fund, at the end of the month, that fund will have CFAF 200 billion while after a year, it will have CFAF 2.4 trillion, the equivalent of USD 4 billion a year.

This money could be invested in various sectors for it to generate more revenue. It could be used to build electronic toll routes across the country and even state-of- the-art hospitals in disadvantaged regions of the country.

Money should never be allowed to sleep. It must be made to work. If each year, such contributions could deliver CFAF 2 trillion, many jobs will be created and life will be better for every Cameroonian, especially for our retirees.

Furthermore, if another scheme – a lifetime health coverage scheme – could be set up to take care if retirees, their lives will be much better when they leave the workforce. Retirement will not be seen as a death sentence.

In this regard, every working Cameroonian could be made to contribute CFAF 2,000 every month which should cover them once they turn 55 years. Such an amount, contributed over 25 years, should guarantee every retired Cameroonian of health coverage for the rest of their life starting from the time they turn 55. This could be supplementary to any other policy they may have had while in active service.

With such a scheme, retired Cameroonians can be sure of their medication, free consultation and highly subsidized admission in hospitals in the country.

With the development of such a plan, there won’t be a need for any evacuation as our hospitals, especially referral hospitals, will be equal to the task. The investment will make it possible for state-of-the-art equipment to be procured and technicians trained to man such equipment. Good salaries for health sector staff will also follow and this will enhance confidence in the system.

Money from this scheme can also be invested in road infrastructure development and affordable housing for city dwellers. This is an investment whose economic and financial impact will ripple out to many sectors and will create much-needed jobs for young Cameroonians.

This is a proposal which if taken seriously, could be a major opportunity for the country and its citizens. These schemes have been successful in well-run countries and they could also succeed in Cameroon, especially when the current government yields its place to a more purposeful and people-centered government.

Cameroonians, be they retired or in active service, need financial security and only insurance schemes can bring the peace of mind they need. For this to succeed, the country’s future leaders will have to engineer a new mind space so that citizens can trust their institutions. Confidence is the cornerstone of every system. Its absence creates lots of problems, including poverty.

By Dr Joachim Arrey

12, May 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Giving the revolution a bad name ⁰

Cameroonians have been reading online that Senator Mundi who was kidnapped sometime ago has been killed by her captors.

The kidnappers, who claim they are ADF fighters, maintain that holding the old and ailing senator will lead to the release of some Southern Cameroonians being held in the Yaoundé Maximum Security Prison by the Biya regime.

As usual, the Yaoundé government is not showing any interest in the captors’ proposal and this has been irritating to the kidnappers.

When news broke that the elderly senator had been executed by her captors, many Southern Cameroonians were angry with such a decision which many qualify as irresponsible and meaningless.

Many Cameroonians hold that senators in Cameroon do not have any real influence and executing Senator Mundi will just be giving the revolution a very bad name.

The Cameroon Concord News Group has not had any real confirmation that she has been killed and would advise caution in the way some people spread such news. The group’s Northwest region’s correspondent is investigating the rumor and will be updating our readers.

Many vocal Southern Cameroonians hold that it is wrong to even hold Senator Mundi in captivity. Her age alone should discourage anybody from engaging in such bad business.

This lady is senile and sickly and the trauma of living in captivity could kill her.

A revolution which started so nicely has been hijacked by some criminal elements and this is not good.

Today, it has become a war wherein some people are using to settle scores and those who express contrary views get blackmailed, threatened or even get their online accounts hacked just to cook up stories about them.

This is not how the revolution was conceived. It was designed to bring about dignity, a sense of responsibility in the two English-speaking regions of the country and foster unity among Southern Cameroonians.

But the revolution has clearly lost its way. Schools are still closed in rural parts of Southern Cameroons and rogues and illiterates have become judges and law enforcement agents in that part of the country.

Senator Mundi is a Southern Cameroonian and she has a right to her political opinion. Cameroon has been designed in a peculiar way and only the country’s president can make meaningful decisions regarding major political issues.

The fear these days is that Southern Cameroonians will be killing each other because of ideological divergences and many young men who sincerely want to fight for the total independence of Southern Cameroons might quit the fight.

It should also be underscored that Senator Mundi has grown up children who are also watching what is happening to their mother. Humiliating her only alienates these children and many others who hold that the revolution has really come off its rails.

The kidnappers should reexamine their strategy. This action of theirs is not helping the revolution. They know who they should be fighting. Killing and kidnapping other Southern Cameroonians is a disease that is heralding the death of the revolution.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

9, May 2022

Amba and Military: two sides of the same coin ⁰

When the Southern Cameroons crisis started in 2016, nobody ever thought Amba fighters who proclaimed that they would protect the population against all odds would be the ones kidnapping and killing their own people.

When the crisis morphed into an armed conflict, many in Southern Cameroons knew the enemy and, indeed, the guilty party regarding the killing of civilians was the alcohol-inflamed, sex-starved and trigger-happy military.

The Cameroon army was desperate to demonstrate that it was winning the war and this pushed its desperate soldiers into firing at innocent and armless civilians even in the centers of the cities, resulting in thousands of senseless deaths.

The military had a point to prove and it resorted to all criminal and unconventional means to achieve its despicable goal.

Houses were burnt and, in many cases, whole villages were burn down. Sometimes, the elderly who could not seek refuge in the bushes were roasted in their own homes.

The atrocities committed by the military were indeed despicable. Many people will forever remember Kwa-Kwa in the Southwest region where an elderly lady was incinerated by the military in her home.

In the Northwest region, the military put its inhumanity on display when children and pregnant women were killed in Ngarbuh, a remote locality far from the Northwest regional capital of Bamenda.

Thanks to International pressure and investigations conducted by international human rights groups, the government yielded, admitting that its forces had operated in Ngarbuh and that those atrocities were the handiwork of a desperate military that was seeking to give Amba fighters a very bad name.

But over the last three years, Amba fighters who had been considered as saviors have been a millstone around the neck of the Southern Cameroonian population.

These reckless criminals who pass off as Amba fighters have been killing and maiming civilians for money, creating a state of general terror in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

Even responsible people who have helped the Amba course like Barrister Paddy Yong who has served as a lead lawyer for Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and his entourage have been kidnapped and taken to the jungle.

The so-called fighters have now become a terror on their own people. Once you get kidnapped, they ask for huge sums of money as if millions are easy to come by in any part of the world.

In Barrister Paddy Yong’s case, the ruthless and criminal elements who took him to the jungle asked for CFAF 1.7 million, a sum he could not give. His crime was that he was not supporting the struggle but there is no rule which states that every Southern Cameroonian must openly display his support for the course and there is no database wherein it could be verified if someone had actually supported the course.

Thanks to pressure from the Diaspora, especially Southern Cameroonians living in America, Barrister Yong was released but not before he received days of inhuman torture in the hands of the Amba criminals. Today, he is suffering from all types of illnesses and nightmares.

These days, many people living out of Southern Cameroons do not venture into the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon because of the violence Amba fighters are wreaking on their own people.

Southern Cameroonians living in the Diaspora do not even think of going home now because they know they have two major enemies – the military and Amba fighters – who are equally dangerous.

Even those who lose their loved ones dare not go home. The military may accuse them of funding the struggle while reckless Amba fighters will kidnap them for a ransom.

The Diaspora has been caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. The irresponsible fighters have been created by the very Diaspora which feels threatened today and the military is still mad at the Diaspora for enabling the fighters to put up a good fight for five years.

The Diaspora cannot even go home to give its dead a decent burial. Amba fighters are a big issue. What used to be as luscious as locust is today as bitter as coloquintida.

Amba fighters are now criminals who must be tried in the same courts as the military. All their financiers must be identified and taken to court for legal action.

While it is unquestionable that Southern Cameroonians have suffered a lot of discrimination in a highly centralized and dictatorial Republic of Cameroon, there is just no justification for Amba fighters to make the fate of Southern Cameroonians worse by kidnapping them and spreading fear and death in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai and Asu Isong

5, May 2022

Dr Aloysius Abangalo as Bishop of Mamfe: How Manyus embrace his mission will make the difference ⁰

At the mass of Thanksgiving on the occasion of his installation as Bishop of Mamfe, Rev Dr Aloysius Abangalo stood before the Mamfe Christian community more than aware of his own inadequacies and watched by thousands around the world who recognized the significance of what was unfolding before their eyes.

Aloysius Abangalo Fondong embraced the ministry which has been entrusted to him by the Holy Father Pope Francis and today May 5, 2022 he assumed the role as Bishop of the diocese of Mamfe.

During the ordination rituals, Bishop Abangalo was visibly happy to embrace this new mission with hope in his heart. It is not a naive hope that everything will be better tomorrow, but a hope born of a conviction that transcends these difficult days through which Cameroonians in the English speaking regions are living.

What Bishop Abangalo will do in the coming months and years, will define who Roman Catholics really are as a people of faith. The people of the Mamfe Diocese must embrace the new Bishop as their future: after all, today and tomorrow are God’s gift to us.

The Holy Roman Catholic Church is indeed a living Church and as a living Church, it is always on the move, always going out and never withdrawn into itself.

As Bishop, Rev Dr Abangalo needs the wisdom and experience, the generosity and prayer of all in the Diocese of Mamfe and it is certain he is looking forward to everyone’s ongoing collaboration and support. Everyone in the Mamfe Diocese – laity, priests and deacons, religious, all who embraces apostolic charisms, as well as the men and women called to a more contemplative way – has something essential to contribute to the future of the faith in the entire diocese.

For us the people of Manyu, it is how we embrace the Bishop Abangalo mission that is going to make the difference in the Mamfe Diocese. We can only do this together following the example of Minister Victor Mengot who has been very instrumental in making the ordination a huge success! Walking together even as Southern Cameroonians or CPDM Manyu Cameroonians is the way of community because “Walking together is the constitutive way of the Church” (Pope Francis, Address at the Opening of the 70th General Assembly of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, May 22, 2017).

Hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches is no easy matter. There is no infallible way. But there is a clear way, a tried and trusted way. That way is a way with each other – slí le chéile.

Cameroon Concord News Group believes that the only viable pastoral plan for the future will be the plan which comes from a genuine dialogue and discernment between the people, clergy and religious. That will involve not only working together in new ways, but getting to know each other anew.

To Archbishop Andrew Nkea, out gone Bishop of the Mamfe Diocese, we of the Cameroon Concord News Group sincerely express gratitude and congratulate you as the new leader of the National Episcopal Conference. As Metropolitan Archbishop of the Bamenda Ecclesiastic Province, you were voted Cameroon Concord Person of the Year 2021 by thousands of our readers. Cameroon Concord News Group, the Church and wider Cameroonian society owe you a profound debt of gratitude.

Like Mary, the Mother of Jesus, we have to find our place in God’s story. Cameroon Concord News Group through this editorial is entrusting Bishop Abangalo’s Episcopal ministry to the motherly care of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.

To this I put my name

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

29, April 2022

An encomium to Reverend Father Maurice Agbaw-Ebai ⁰

An encomium to Reverend Father Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai [Bachelor in Philosophy, Pontifical Urban University, Rome, 2004; S.T.B. – bachelor’s in theology, Summa Cum Laude, Hekima University College, Jesuit School of Theology, Nairobi, Kenya, 2009; Th.M. – Master of Theology, Boston College, School of Theology and Ministry, 2015; S.T.L. – Licentiate in Sacred Theology, Boston College, School of Theology and Ministry, 2015; M.A. in Philosophy with Distinctions, Boston College, Morrisey School of Arts and Sciences, 2018; S.T.D. – Doctorate in Sacred Theology, Boston College, School of Theology and Ministry, 2018; Ph.D. in Philosophy, Boston College, Morrisey School of Arts and Sciences, 2021]; Cameroonian philosophy and theology scholar in the USA, erudite professor, eminent Chaplain of the Cameroon Catholic Community of the Archdiocese of Boston, celebrated former chancellor of Mamfe Diocese, renowned Coordinator of the Benedict XVI Institute for Africa (which promotes research work on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI); on the occasion of his appointment as Permanent Formator at St John’s Seminary, Boston, USA by Cardinal Seàn O’Malley of Boston Archdiocese, USA. Written by Nchumbonga George Lekelefac, Doctorate Candidate, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, Germany

“Ad majórem Dei glóriam; AMDG” (For the greater glory of God). Motto of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and one of the favorite mottos of Revered Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai

1. Introduction

This encomium is devoted to Revered Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai on his recent appointment in the Archdiocese of Boston. “As of Friday, March 4, 2022, Cardinal Seàn O’Malley, archbishop of Boston appointed our own Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice to St. John’s Seminary, Boston MA, as full-time professor of philosophy and theology, while continuing in his teaching career in the other universities in the Boston area. He is a proud son of Manyu, a division of the Southwest Region in Cameroon, which covers an area of 9,565 km² and as of 2005 had a total population of 181,039. The capital of the division is Mamfe, which happens to be his diocese of incardination. He is also a proud son of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda and Cameroon in general. His tremendous achievement needs to be appreciated objectively without any envy or jealousy. This man of God has achieved a lot through hard work, discipline, and steadfastness. Every objective mind needs to pause for a second and appreciate this son of the soil of Mamfe Diocese.

Reverend Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai is a Priest of the Diocese of Mamfe Cameroon currently serving in the Archdiocese of Boston, USA. He became the very first priest of Mamfe Diocese to obtain a PhD in Sacred Theology in Boston College, USA in 2018. Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai comes from a family of 8. His brother, a refined intellectual by name Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai based in Ireland is one of the founding fathers of the Cameroon Catholic Community in Mulheim an der Rhur, Germany.

Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice Ashley served as Secretary to Bishop Emeritus Francis Lysinge, Financial secretary and also moonlighted as Chancellor of the Mamfe Diocese between 2009 to 2014.

He currently teaches courses in Theology and Philosophy at Woods College in Boston College and at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, MA.

On April 17, 2022, he handed over as Parish Priest of St Anne’s Parish in Salem, MA in order to take up a new appointment as Permanent Formator at St John’s Seminary, Boston, USA. He is also the Chaplain of the Cameroon Catholic Community of the Archdiocese of Boston. He is the Coordinator of the Benedict XVI Institute for Africa, which promotes research work on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI.

Mr. Tambe Tanyi of the Cameroon Catholic Community, Mulheim an der Rhur, Germany wrote after the appointment all the way from Germany: “Cardinal Seàn O’Malley of Boston appoints Fr Maurice Agbaw-Ebai to St. John’s Seminary, Boston MA. We come to you this day with good news of the promotion of Dr. Rev. Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai to full professor.

As of Friday, March 4, 2022, Cardinal Seàn O’Malley of Boston appointed Fr. Maurice to St. John’s Seminary, Boston MA, as full-time professor of philosophy and theology, while continuing in his teaching career in the other universities in the Boston area.

This brings to an end Fr. Maurice’s tenure as parish priest of Ste Anne’s Salem MA, as of March 19, 2022. A new parish priest for Ste Anne’s will be announced, April 17, 2022, Easter Sunday. We thank Fr. Maurice for his dedicated service at Ste Anne’s, and to the Cameroon Catholic Community of Boston in particular. We wish him the best in his assignment of forming priests for the dioceses in the New England area. We entrust his academic vocation, clearly so dear to his heart, to St Joseph, protector of the Universal Church.

In his time as Secretary / Chancellor of the Diocese of Mamfe, Rev. Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai worked so hard with his Bishop – Emeritus Lysinge Teke to ascertain that a Priest of the Diocese of Mamfe be appointed to the Cameroon Catholic Community Mülheim- Germany. The dream became true.

His meritorious promotion makes us happy. He is a good and leading example of what Cameroonian Priest abroad should emulate. Giving a good name not only to his Diocese but to the generality of Cameroon. It brings not prestige but as well impacts how other Catholic Dioceses look at Priests from Cameroon. It motivates the acceptance of Cameroonian Priests in Catholic Dioceses abroad.

To address him Rev. Prof. Dr. Maurice Agaw-Ebai would be an acknowledgement of deserved recognition for a wonderful Priest. Go abroad, make a name for yourself, lead your community to success, let your Diocese and the entire Catholic Church be proud and happy of your endeavours.

Rev. Professor. Dr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai, you make us happy and proud. May God continue to help you be the good shepherd. We say THANK YOU!To God be the Glory.”

2.The Indomitable Role of Rev. Fr. Professor Dr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai in assisting Bishop Lysinge from 2009-2014

The history of the Diocese of Mamfe cannot be complete without mentioning the name of Rev. Fr. Professor Dr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai, who played a tremendous role in assisting Bishop Lysinge in building the structures and making the diocese of Mamfe known worldwide.

It was only after his nomination as the Diocesan Chancellor, the Diocesan Finance Administrator and the Private Secretary to Bishop Lysinge in 2009 that the Diocese came back on track. In a very short time after the Mamfe Diocese had derailed financially for 10 donkey years, with almost no project been completed, the presence of the newly ordained Rev. Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai and his nomination as the Diocesan Chancellor, the Diocesan Finance Administrator and the Private Secretary to Bishop Lysinge, fresh from Hekima University College, Jesuit School of Theology, Nairobi, Kenya, in 2009 changed the modus operandi (that is, a particular way or method of doing something, especially one that is characteristic or well-established) of the Diocese of Mamfe.

Construction of the bishop’s house and the Cathedral was accelerated. In less than no time, the Mamfe bishop’s house was completed. For the past ten years, from 1999 to 2010, Bishop Lysinge lived in tiny bishop’s residence found opposite St Johns College, Nchang. The construction of bishop’s house at Mamfe became a mystery, until Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice arrived to set financial records straight and transparent. Few years later after his arrival, the bishops house project was completed. Finally, Bishop Francis Teke Lysinge moved to live in the bishop’s house behind the Mamfe Cathedral.

As if that was not enough, Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai fast-tracked the completion of: 1) The Mamfe Diocesan Secretariat; 2) The dusty Mamfe Cathedral which was sometimes watered before sweeping. There was no concrete; 3) The Minor Seminary in Fotabong; 4) The Spiritual Centre; 5) Countless presbyteries, and many parish churches and parishes were established.

Due to his academic exposure, having studied Theology abroad in Kenya with the Jesuits, Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai saw the importance of sending seminarians to study out of Cameroon. In this regard, he assisted Bishop Lysinge in searching for scholarships in Rome for seminarians of Mamfe diocese and in preparing all the paperwork and visa processing that was needed to send seminarians abroad for studies. It is important to note here that the Congregation of Propaganda Fide issues many scholarships to diocese of mission territories to further their studies in Rome. They live at the Colegio Urbano. Until now, the francophone dioceses in Cameroon had enjoyed this opportunity of sending their seminarians to Rome on scholarship, while our Bishops of the Ecclesiastical province of Bamenda folded their arms and watch these opportunity pass by. Mamfe Diocese became the very first diocese in the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda to send seminarians abroad to Rome to study theology. According to some bishops of the Province, it had to be Bambui. Some bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda were even uncomfortable with the fact that Mamfe was sending seminarians to Rome but this did not deter Fr. Maurice and Bishop Lysinge to forge ahead knowing fully well that they were an autonomous diocese and could take initiatives for the good of their diocese regardless of what some bishops were saying. I would lie to specify that it was only during the tenure of Fr Maurice Agbaw-Ebai as his private secretary that this was made possible through his selfless and totally indefatigable, utterly unflagging, outstandingly unrelenting, and absolutely untiring assistance to Bishop Lysinge that Mamfe Diocese had numerous seminarians sent to study in Rome, beginning with Mr Marinus Ndifor and many others followed.

Many seminarians were also sent to Nigeria. Mamfe Diocese became known not only in Cameroon, but beyond, in fact worldwide thanks to the presence of Fr Maurice Agbaw-Ebai as private secretary to Bishop Lysinge.

Above all, the first Mamfe Diocesan priest was sent as Fide donum to lead the Cameroon Catholic Community in Mulheim, in the Diocese of Essen in the person of Fr. Constant Leke Ngolefac. Through these pastoral exchanges, Mamfe Diocese became known worldwide.

As you could see, the presence of Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai as Diocesan Chancellor, the Diocesan Finance Administrator and the Private Secretary to Bishop Lysinge from 2009 played a tremendous role in assisting Bishop Lysinge retire on 25 January 2014 with almost all diocesan structures completed. In barely 4 years of service, Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai and Bishop Lysinge accelerated a lot of projects to completion. Who is Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai?

3. Reverend Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: Educational Background

Reverend Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai is a former student of St. Joseph’s Primary School in Mamfe town.

He attended Government Bilingual Secondary School and Government High School Mamfe.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy (B.Phil.), Cum Laude Probatus, from St Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, Bambui, Cameroon, an affiliate of the Pontifical Urban University, Rome in 2004. His Dissertation was titled: “Virtue in the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius” and his Dissertation Supervisor was the late Prof. Christian Mofor, Rector, St Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, Bambui, Cameroon, of glorious and evergreen memory.

He also earned an S.T.B. – bachelor’s in theology, Summa Cum Laude from Hekima University College, Jesuit School of Theology, Nairobi, Kenya in 2009.

He earned a Th.M. – Master of Theology, from Boston College, School of Theology and Ministry in 2015.

He earned an S.T.L. – Licentiate in Sacred Theology, Boston College, School of Theology and Ministry in 2015: Major Field: Systematic Theology. His Dissertation was titled: “Joseph Ratzinger: The Word Became Love and Truth in the Church,” Dissertation Supervisor: Dr. Barbara Radtke.

He earned a M.A. in Philosophy with Distinctions, Boston College, Morrisey School of Arts and Sciences, 2018: Major Field of Study: Philosophy of Religion

He obtained an S.T.D. – Doctorate in Sacred Theology, Boston College, School of Theology and Ministry, 2018; Institut Papst Benedikt XVI, Regensburg, Germany: Systematic Theology. His Dissertation was titled: “The Aufklärung as the Hermeneutical Framework of the Christo-Ecclesiology of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI,” Dissertation Advisor: Prof. Brian Dunkle, S.J., School of Theology and Ministry, Boston College.

He also earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy, Boston College, Morrisey School of Arts and Sciences, 2021: Major Field of Study: Philosophy of Religion in the era of the Enlightenment and Modern Philosophy. His Dissertation was titled: “The Relation with God in Living Subjectivity in Søren Kierkegaard and Maurice Blondel.” Dissertation Advisor: Prof. Jeffrey Bloechl, Philosophy Department, Boston College.

4. Revered Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: Editorial Work

He was: Assistant Editor of the Searchlight Magazine, St Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, Bambui, Cameroon and the Assistant Editor, Hekima Review, Hekima University College, Jesuit School of Theology, Nairobi, Kenya.

5. Revered Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai : Distinctions

Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice has received the following distinctions:

1. Excellence Teaching/Mentor Certificate of Recognition, Woods, Boston College

2. Summa Cum Laude, bachelor’s in theology, Hekima University College, Jesuit School of Theology

3. Passed with Distinction, master’s in philosophy

4. Teaching and Research Interests Systematic Theology Philosophy of Religion

5. The Person and Theology of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI

6. June 2018 – Present: Coordinator of the Benedict XVI Institute for Africa

6. Revered Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai : Teaching Experience

He has taught the following courses at Boston College include: Leadership and Decision Making: Ignatian-Based Applied Ethics; Systematic Theology; Foundations in Theology; Philosophical Ethics; Liturgy and Sacraments; Augustine’s Confessions; History of Theology; Christianity in Africa.

7. Revered Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: Course Taught at St John’s Seminary, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice taught “Joseph Ratzinger and the Enlightenment” at St John’s Seminary, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.

8. Revered Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: Publications – Articles

Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice is a prolific researcher and writer. He has written and published about 39 articles. They include:

1. Benedict XVI: Co-Workers in the Truth (Papal Visit to Cameroon, 2008);

2. On the Reasonableness of Faith in Creation;

3. Catholicism And the Public Culture: Forming an Alternative Public Consciousness;

4. Catholicism as a Beautiful Experience;

5. Catholicism: An Advent and Easter Experience;

6. Benedict XVI and the Criticism of Faith and Church;

7. The Church and the Clown;

8. The Second African Synod – Rekindling the Flame and Vision;

9. Catholicism & Public Culture;

10. Catholicism and Irrational Public Power;

11. Catholicism and the Grammar of Tolerance;

12. Vatican Council II: An Ecclesial Mea Culpa?

13. The Popes and the Jews: The Religious Foundations of the Holocaust: Lessons for the World;

14. The Perenniality of Christian Martyrdom: From Freedom of Speech to Satanic Worship;

15. Catholicism and the Political Order;

16. The Confessing Church & the Two Popes;

17. The Popes and the Prisoners: The Case of Guantanamo Bay;

18. Conversion and the Kindly Light of John Henry Newman;

19. Mary of Nazareth and the Question of God;

20. Catholicism and Conflict Situations in Africa: Contributions from our tradition;

21. When Benedict XVI Was Right, and the World Wrong: Eight Years After Regensburg;

22. Pope Francis and the Culture of Encounter: From Gaudium et Spes to Evangelii Gaudium;

23. The Fear of the Future: Catholicism and the Practice of Divination;

24. The Triumph of Orthodoxy: The 2014 Synod of Bishops;

25. The 2014 Synod of Bishops: The Anatomy of a Crisis;

26. Africa and the Economy of Exclusion – Perspectives and New Horizons fro

27. The Joy of the Gospel of Pope Francis;

28. Blessed Are You, Beloved and Eminent Fr. Christian Mofor, PHD, Because You Believed! (Tribute)

29. Domine, Non Sum Dignus! The State of Grace and the Reception of Holy Communion;

30. Who Do You Say I Am? Evangelizing Today’s Culture;

31. Why I Still Believe in the Sinful Church;

32. Baptism Says It All;

33. The Goal of Ordinary Time;

34. Remembering Benedict XVI Three Years Ago;

35. Why Christians Must Be Strangers: The Church, the World and the God of Jesus Christ;

36. Amoris Laetitia, A Missed Evangelical Opportunity?

37. Father Benedict XVI, A Friend of Jesus Christ!

38. The Leap to Faith: A Kantian Reading of the Figure of Abraham in Soren Kierkegaard/Johannes De Silentio’s Fear and Trembling (Soundings, Penn State University Press, Fall 2020)

39. Conscience and the Discernment of the True and the Good in the Practice of Law

9. Revered Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai : Author of Books

Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice has authored the following books:

1. Bishop Francis Teke Lysinge a Retrospective Legacy (2013)

2. Light of Reason, Light of Faith Joseph Ratzinger and the German Enlightenment (St Augustine’s Press, IN, 2020)

3. Lecture Africaine de la pensée de Benoît XVI (editor), (Presses de L’UCAC Yaoundé, September 2020)

10. Revered Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: Conferences and Invited Speaking

He is a refined orator who can hold the audience spellbound. He has delivered the following conferences:

1. Address to the Sons of St Patrick, Boston College, October 22, 2015 at Boston College: The Church in Africa and the Synod of the Family

2. Ratzinger and the Future of African Theology, October 17 – 19 2019 at Mundelein Seminary, Chicago IL: Joseph Ratzinger’s Theological Reading of Political Power: Relevance for the Continent of Africa in the 21st Century

3. African Perspective of Benedict XVI’S Thought, November 27 – 29 2019 at the Catholic University of Central Africa, Yaoundé, Cameroon: Joseph Ratzinger and the Universality of Logos in Cultures: The Preference for Interculturality over Inculturation

4. St. John’s Seminary Faculty Lecture, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, July 1, 2020: The Sacraments of the Church: A Continuation of the Incarnate & Glorified Christ

5. Lecture to the Catholic Lawyers’ Guild of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, October 27 2020: Conscience and the Discernment of the True and the Good in the Practice of Law

11. Revered Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: Grants & Funding Received

Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice has received the following funding and grants which assisted him in his research and studies and to assist others and projects in Mamfe diocese:

1. Irish Memorial Fund, Boston College, 2013 – 2019

2. Institut Papst Benedikt XVI, Regensburg, Germany, 2016 – 2018 Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI Foundation, Vatican City, 2019 – 2020

12. Revered Father Doctor Professor Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai : Interview

On May 21, 2019, an interview was conducted by John Tanyi Lebui titled “Boston: A Cameroonian Priest Speaks of His Journey with Pope Benedict XVI” to Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice. Find excerpt of the interview:

“John Tanyi Lebui: Tell us about this today?

Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: Today, May 18, 2019, is Commencement day for Boston College. In this context, I received today the Doctorate in Sacred Theology, with humble pride.

John Tanyi Lebui: How did you come to this day?

Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: Through the antecedent and consequent grace of God! It is a day that has been long in the making! My journey with Ratzinger/Benedict XVI began with my undergraduate theological studies at Hekima College, Jesuit School of Theology, Nairobi, Kenya. I could say that it has taken fourteen years to get to this day. I did my Licentiate in Theology on Ratzinger, specifically his Ecclesiology, that is, his theology of the Church. I found in Ratzinger a steady and sure compass for my own theological orientation. When my Bishop asked me to do a doctorate, it appeared naturally to me to continue along the theological path with Ratzinger.

John Tanyi Lebui: What is the central question of your doctorate dissertation?

Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: I studied the philosophical framework thanks to which one can arrive at a deeper understanding of the Christological and the Ecclesiological underlining presuppositions and convictions of Joseph Ratzinger, especially in the light of post-modern secular reinterpretations of the figure of Jesus of Nazareth and the community called the Church.

John Tanyi Lebui: Could you describe the main findings of your study?

Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: Summarily, I found out that to understand Ratzinger’s Christo-Ecclesiology requires contextualizing Ratzinger in the hermeneutical framework of the Aufklärung, that is, the German Enlightenment, especially the figures of Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche and Heidegger. Of course, the starting point is Descartes’ Discourse on Method, which marks the beginning of modern philosophy, though of French origin. Then Kierkegaard too, of Danish origin, comes into the scene. I couldn’t convince my dissertation supervisor and dissertation committee members of the ratio-character of Kierkegaard as a proto-Ratzingerian, because they tended to see Kierkegaard as fideistic. But I hope to argue for the contrary in my post-doctoral work. These sentiments of the philosophical context of Ratzinger’s thoughts are captured in the topic of my doctoral thesis: The Aufklärung as the Hermeneutical Framework of the Christo-Ecclesiology of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI.

John Tanyi Lebui: We know your home diocese of Mamfe is really proud of you and this achievement….

Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: After the defense of my doctoral thesis on April 25, 2019, I received a very generous email from my Bishop, Mgr. Andrew Nkea. He described what has happened as a milestone in my life and in the life of the Diocese of Mamfe. I felt that was very gracious. In addition, Fr. Marcel Sang, a priest of my diocese, was present for the defense. In him, I felt the support of the Presbyterium of my diocese. It was beautiful that he came all the way from Rome to be present at my defense. Fr. Edmund Ugochukwu too was present. He is a priest of Mamfe in spirit, even if juridically he belongs elsewhere. Mamfe Diocese to me is the fairest daughter of Zion. Everything is from her and everything leads to her.

John Tanyi Lebui: What next for you Dr. Agbaw-Ebai?

Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: (laughs) I really do not think I am comfortable with the title “Dr.” To me, the most esteemed title is that I am called “Fr.” Do you know even my mother calls me “Fr”! It is awesome. That means the world to me. And I think it is the same with all priests. To respond to your question: My bishop, Mgr. Andrew Nkea, has asked me to do another degree in Philosophy. I have to continue working on that. I have always been fascinated by atheism, especially in its theoretical form. If God does not exist, says the Russian Dostoevsky, then everything is possible! Even Nietzsche’s Übermensch is a logical consequence of the death of God.But what kind of a world results from the death of God? Even in Nietzsche, the reaction is ambivalent. After the Churches have become the sepulchers of God, what is left of the human being? What is left, even of God? What kind of God dies? The God of theodicy? The God of metaphysics? The God of religious dogma? Is it necessary for the God of theodicy to die in order for the God of religious experience who suffers and love to rise? Can God return? What is the possibility of the return of God? Can there be a dialectical and existential rapprochement between theism, atheism and anatheism? These are some of the questions that I am considering in my philosophy project. I know this might sound shocking to you: I turn to be deeply fascinated by the thought of atheism, by the promises that it offers. But don’t get me wrong! I believe in the God of Jesus Christ, even if with a small faith! Adauge nobis fidem, I turn to say to the Lord! And perhaps that small faith is enough for the Lord!

In addition, I have my job as a professor at Boston College. Recently, there is the discernment about me going as a visiting lecturer at St. Mary’s University, Minnesota, to teach a course on the major themes of Ratzinger’s theology. Then there is the work of the Benedict XVI Institute for Africa, which is planning two theological conferences this year, in Chicago in October, and at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé, in November. Finally, with the permission of the Bishop of Mamfe, Boston is asking to administer a parish. I find this really interesting because it will be the first time that I will be a “resident pastor.” I have always been an assistant, in three parishes in Boston, at Newton, Medford and Georgetown. Now, I am being asked to move to another town. I hope I can help the community to deepen their friendship with Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life. So, summarily, these are the things that will keep me busy and out of trouble (laughs), that is, working in the academia as a professor, while providing pastoral care to my new parish community. I count on your prayers.

John Tanyi Lebui: Any last word?

Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai: Gratitude. Gratitude to God. Gratitude to my mother and family. Gratitude to Mamfe Diocese for all that I have become today. Gratitude to the priests of Mamfe. Gratitude to Bishop Lysinge, my first pastor and father. Gratitude to Bishop Andrew Nkea, who has done so much for me more than I could ever have imagined, especially given what he has asked me to do or permitted me to do.Gratitude to my seminary classmates. Gratitude to the parishes and peoples with whom I have worked and shared my life with here in the Archdiocese of Boston. Gratitude to Fr. Christian Mofor (RIP). I believe his legacy lives on. I am sure he must be very happy that I am finally doing a degree in philosophy. He always wanted that. And finally, gratitude to Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, for shaping my life in ways beyond all telling. Best wishes and God’s abundant blessings to the readers of Cameroon Concord News Group.”

13. Bishop Nkea says Father Agbaw-Ebai loves the Church with his whole heart and he’s is not just a Catholic priest, but he is a true son of the Church

On 28, July 2019, at 10th Anniversary Mass of Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice, then Bishop Nkea said that Father Agbaw-Ebai loves the Church with his whole heart, and he’s is not just a Catholic priest, but he is a true son of the Church. These were the exact words of Bishop Nkea who delivered the homily in Boston:

“HOMILY AT THE MASS OF THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY TO THE PRIESTHOOD OF REV. FR. MAURICE AGBAW-EBAI, BOSTON, USA, 28TH JULY 2019

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today is a very important day in the life of Rev. Fr. Maurice Agbaw Ebai, Priest of the Diocese of Mamfe, Cameroon and Pastor of St. Anne’s Parish in the Archdiocese of Boston, United States of America. On this day, we have all joined to render thanks to Almighty God, who ten years ago, called Fr. Maurice to make a complete and irreversible donation of his entire life to the service of and to pour out his life as a libation for the redemption of souls. On this day, ten years ago, Fr. Maurice died with Christ on his altar of sacrifice, and after his ordination, he could say with St. Paul, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Jesus Christ his Son, and to the Church that is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. On this day, ten years ago, Fr. Maurice prostrated himself before God and the Entire Church gathered in prayer, to empty himself of himself

My dear people of God gathered here with Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai to celebrate his tenth anniversary, I welcome you all to this great day in the life of this priest and I want to apologize that I could not stay in America long enough to be present at this occasion which I had agreed to preside over and preach. But since urgent duties recalled me home to the Diocese of Mamfe and the Church in Cameroon, I decided to ask Fr. Dieudonne Akawung, the Diocesan Finance Administrator to come to Boston and to preach this homily on my behalf which I had written to preach myself. I know that Fr. Dieudonne will deliver the homily well on my behalf, but the only difference is that he will be delivering the homily without a miter on his head. Some people in Mamfe had asked me if I was going all the way to the United States to celebrate only a tenth anniversary, what would I do if it were a silver Jubilee? My answer to them was a quotation from the Psalmist who said, “One day in his house is better than a thousand elsewhere” and again, the same Psalmist who said in another instance that “a thousand years for God is like a day just come and gone” (Ps.90:4). To be a priest even for one day only, brings a lot of glory and honour to name of Jesus Christ who is the Supreme High Priest of the New Covenant. If after nine years of seminary formation, a priest had the chance to celebrate only one Mass and died, he would have fulfilled the reason for his ordination, because his first Mass and the Mass of his golden Jubilee in the priesthood is one continuous sacrifice, during which he re-enacts in an un-bloody way, the bloody sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ on the Cross for the salvation of the world. Therefore, this celebration is not about Fr. Maurice, it is about glory and honour to the Name of Jesus Christ whom he has been so blessed to serve with devotion and loyalty all these ten years.

However, while we give honour and glory to God, we must remember the quote from St. Augustine who said “Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not”. It is in this light I wish to join you all and say to Fr. Maurice, a big Congratulations on your tenth anniversary. Within these ten years, God has used your hands to dispense his blessings to thousands of people, God has used your mouth and your voice to bring his Good News and consolation to thousands of Christ’s Faithful. Within these ten years, God has used you to bring absolution and forgive the sins of thousands of people everywhere in the confessionals. Within these ten years, many have been born through you in the waters of baptism, and above all every day, you have stood in the place of Christ to celebrate the Eucharist and raise the cup of salvation on behalf of the people of God entrusted to your care. Fr. Maurice and many of us will now understand better what St. Augustine meant when he said, “without us, God will not”. Thank you, Father Maurice, for making yourself an instrument in the hands of God for all these years so that God’s graces may come down from heaven and rest on his people on earth. Through you, heaven is wedded to earth and man is reconciled with God. For this, we can only say “Glory be to God on high, and congratulations to you, man of goodwill.”

In the Letter to the Hebrews, it is stated that every high priest has been taken out of mankind, and is appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins… No one takes this honour on himself, but each one is called by God as Aaron was (Heb. 5:1-4).

The priesthood thus is a gift and at the same time, it is a mystery. It is a gift in the sense that it is freely given by God. That is why Christ says in John 15:16 that you did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last.

It is a mystery because it is something that can never be understood. How can a human being command God to come into bread? How can human being touch water and it becomes holy? How can a human being throw a bit of water on your head and original sin is taken away? How can a human being wave his hands in the air and impart the blessing of God? How can a human being say, “I absolve you” and sin is taken away? This remains a mystery, more or less like the Trinity, the most ancient of all mysteries. Even the priest who carries the priesthood in him does not fully understand it. He simply exercises this ministry in faith, knowing that the Lord who called him and whom he is serving, will not let him down.

The priest is a man of God and he never acts in his name but in the name of the one who sent him. That is why every time the priest carries out liturgical function, he does so in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He never does this in his own personal name.

There are two things I would like you people to understand today about priests on this day on the tenth anniversary celebration of Fr. Maurice.

The first is that Priests called by God are human and sinners like all other people. That is why St. Paul Says in 2Cor. 4:7; that we are only earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us. Priests fall down in different ways from time to time. The twelve Apostles called on Holy Thursday to be priests were men, with faults and failings. Fr. Columba, an Irish Priest said in one of his homilies that The first Pope, St. Peter was rash and bad tempered. He also denied Christ in His hour of need. St. Mathew was a swindler who co-operated with his country’s enemies. And poor St. Thomas wasn’t too sure about what he believed or where he stood. If God only relied on the virtuous and the perfect, he would have very few (or no) priests. I for one standing here would not even come anywhere near the altar.

In this regard, I want to say that most often Christians see the man in the priest and not the priest in the man. Many people only look at the man in the priest, and some people may not even believe in the miraculous work of God through the priest. But when we look at the priest in the man, we transcend his own petty weaknesses and see the grace of God at work in us through the instrumentality of human beings. It is in this connection that the church teaches us about the principle of ex opereoperato to mean that the efficacy of the sacrament does not depend on the worthiness of the priest. He is a simple instrument that has to struggle for his own salvation in fear and trembling.

The second thing I want you to understand about priests is that their life is not their own. They have offered it to the church, and they do everything according to the mind of the Church. They must conform therefore not to the standards set by men but to the standards set by God and the Church. These standards come out in the way they minister to their people. Before you think of the one wrong of a priest, remember the thousand good things he does for his flock daily. Satan exists in the community to ruin it. The priest is a good and struggling man. His goodness is and should not only be seen when de dies. Always be ready to appreciate what a priest does for you, never take it for granted.

From the day Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Mamfe, he has done his work to the best of his ability, and like his Bishop, I want to use this chance to thank him for the priest that he has been. The real seminary for the priest is the Ministry, and thus we rise and fall in our attempt to give our all to God. The one thing I know for certain about this priest, all his human weaknesses notwithstanding, is that he loves the church with his whole heart. He is not just a Catholic priest, but he is a true son of the Church and he is ready to defend the doctrine of the Church with such passion that could be seen only in the likes of St. Irenaeus, St. Athanasius and his mentor in the faith, Pope Benedict XVI. I encourage him on this day that his faith may never fail, so that he may always remain a source of strength to his brothers and sisters in Christ. I invite all of you in this Church today to pray in a very special way for our celebrant, that he may remain faithful to Christ, loyal to the Church, fervent in prayer and constant in love for the Christians he serves in the Archdiocese of Boston.

I wish each and every one of you a very happy celebration, and once again to Fr. Maurice, Happy tenth Anniversary and God bless you all.

+Andrew NKEA, Bishop of Mamfe.”

14. Conclusion

Finally, Fr Paul Ajong of the BVM wrote on April 17, 2022 from Salem, Massachusetts: “Today, permit me shine the light and say Congratulations to Rev. Fr. Dr. Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai who hands over as the Parish Priest of Sainte Anne Salem to take up his new appointment as a Permanent Formator at St John’s Seminary, Boston. Fr Maurice is a Priest of the Diocese of Mamfe Cameroon currently serving in the Archdiocese of Boston, USA. Giving his vast and deep knowledge in Theology and Philosophy and having obtained a Doctoral Degree in both fields; bearing in mind his love for the Church and the people of God placed in his charge and giving the number of years he has faithfully served as a Priest; it was no surprise to me when Fr Maurice told me he has been appointed by Cardinal Sean O’Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston to join the permanent formation team that trains young men to the Ministerial Priesthood. Many of us having been seminarians under his watchful and fatherly care, I have no doubt that he will make one of the best Formators for our young people discerning the call to the Sacred Priesthood. We pray that God continues to strengthen him. In addition to this new responsibility, Fr Maurice is also a lecturer in Boston College and other Universities around Boston area. He also sacrifices to give lectures in CATUC, the Catholic University of our Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province. His love and admiration for the Pope Emeritus Bénédicte XVI has led him into a deep probing and understanding of Ratzinger’s Intellectual Richness. He therefore also heads the Branch of the Ratzinger Institute in the Central African States under development. We thank him for the work he has been doing not only for the Archdiocese of Boston but also for the great source of blessing he has been for his home Diocese of Mamfe Cameroon. Join me Congratulate Fr. Maurice on this great day that the Lord has made and bid us rejoice. We pray that God strengthens him in this new responsibility with all the graces needed. God bless you all.”

I wish to end this encomium by wishing Rev. Fr. Dr. Prof. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai the very best as he begins this new ministry. Thank you for making the diocese of Mamfe proud. May the good Lord protect him and guide him with the necessary graces to accomplish this significant mission in the Church. Amen.

This encomium was respectfully, devotedly, affectionately, and prayerfully submitted today for publication.

Written by Nchumbonga George Lekelefac, B. Phil. (Mexico), STB. (Roma), JCL/MCL. (Ottawa); Diploma in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, and Dutch; [Degrees earned in order to serve mankind better and not otherwise]; Doctorate Candidate at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Katholisch Theologische Fakultät, Ökumenisches Institut, Münster, Deutschland, Europe.

17, April 2022

Benedict XVI at 95: Searching for the Face of the Lord ⁰

Towards the end of the Book of Signs in the Gospel of John, the Evangelist narrates an intriguing request from a somewhat unexpected source: “Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. These approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went to tell Andrew, and Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus.” (John 12:20 – 22). Much has been said about this request by the Greeks, for, in the grand scheme of things, Athens embodies an unmatchable talent of what unaided reason could have achieved. The land of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, bequeathed to the Kingdom of Thought (to use a Hegelian phrase), an enduring intellectual legacy to questions that remain pressing today, at least for some: What is the meaning of human life? Why am Ihere? Do I have a purpose and a destiny? How must I live with my neighbor? And in a twenty-first century that increasingly finds the postulate of the self-sufficiency and autonomy of the human being in the world attractive, the philosophical tradition dating to the Greeks continue to keep on the radar, other essential questions: What is the source of everything? What is the possibility and meaning of change in my life? (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus, Empedocles, Parmenides, Zeno, etc.).

Retrospectively, therefore, the desire of the Greeks to see Jesus could very well be a manifestation of the human realization of our insufficiency regarding the ultimate questions, some of which we have just highlighted above. The quest to see Jesus by the Greeks could be indicative of the limits of human autonomy and self-sufficiency. We have exhausted all our human capacities, and as the French philosopher Maurice Blondel points out, the wedge between the willing will and the willed continues to leave us unfulfilled and yearning for more. Human reason and all of human effort can only go so far! We need help from outside. And that explains the desire to see Jesus, for we are hoping that in Jesus, the absence of satiety that characterizes the human quest for meaning would be resolved.

Reflecting on the long and beautiful life of Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger/Benedict XVI who turns 95 today (April 16 1927 – April 16 2022), this quest by the Greeks appears to me a fitting metaphor for this shy and deeply pious Bavarian scholar. The desire to see Jesus, the search for Jesus in order to follow him, and to allow the self to be drawn into an intimate friendship with the living Christ – what Ignatius of Loyola variously characterizes in the Spiritual Exercises as sequela Christi, imitatio Christi, conformatio Christi and transformatio in Christum – is the defining leitmotif of the life and legacy of Ratzinger. To the gentle theologian from Bavaria, his date and day of birth is very providential, especially from a Christological perspective. In his Memoirs, Ratzinger writes:

I was born on Holy Saturday, April 16 1927, in Marktl am Inn. The fact that my day of birth was the last day of Holy Week and the eve of Easter has always been noted in our family history. This was connected with the fact that I was baptized immediately on the morning of the day I was born with the water that had just been blessed. (At that time the solemn Easter Vigil was celebrated on the morning of Holy Saturday). To be the first person baptized with the new water was seen as a significant act of Providence. I have always been filled with thanksgiving for having had my life immersed in this way in the Easter mystery, since this could only be a sign of blessing. To be sure, it was not Easter Sunday but Holy Saturday, but, the more I reflect on it, the more this seems to be fitting for the nature of our human life: we are still awaiting Easter; we are not yet standing in the full light but walking toward it full of trust. (Ratzinger, Milestones: Memoirs 1972 – 1977, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1998, 8).

What is this “nature of our human life” that Ratzinger is alluding to? In a word, it is the sense or experience of the aid to fulfillment that comes from the outside, from the Lord, a fulfillment that left to ourselves we cannot completely bring about. It implies a learning to live with the reality of little daily hopes and contentment that point to the bigger hope that is ushered by the Risen Christ, a new beginning of a different kind of life. Conscious of our inability to attain the purpose and destiny of our lives unaided, we seek help from outside, while living in the here and now. Rooted in the earth, our gaze transcends the mere empirical and looks beyond the One that lies buried in the silence of a tomb. We await the help that is much needed to liberate us from exhaustion, diversion and indifference (Blaise Pascal). Holy Saturday, therefore, becomes a program for Ratzinger’s life, and hopefully, ours as well (Last Testament, New York: Bloomsbury, 2016, 43). “In a sense, the silence of Holy Saturday is filled with the mystery of hope. But this light is not without challenges, not without forces that are bent on blowing it out. Life is thus a drama between these two poles, these two forces seeking dominance over the human soul” (Agbaw-Ebai, Light of Reason, South Bend, IN: Ignatius Press, 2021, 28).

From a Ratzingerian perspective, these two forces that are present in the reality of Holy Saturday, what Augustine of Hippo characterizes as self-love (the absence of love) versus the love for God (the presence of love), can help us reflect on some pertinent questions today (Agbaw-Ebai, Light of Reason, 29 – 34):

Firstly, Ratzinger sees Holy Saturday, the day of his birth, as relevant to the question about the absence or “death” of God (especially in the context of the increasingly secularized Western world). God increasingly has less and less significance and signification. God appears powerless in the face of human concerns and other practical and urgent needs.

Secondly, Ratzinger sees Holy Saturday, the day of his birth, as relevant to the question about the hiddenness of God, God’s obscurity: “It is the day of that frightful paradox that we express in the Creed with the words ‘descended into hell,’ descended into the mystery of death. On Good Friday we could at least look at the Pierced One. But Holy Saturday is empty, the heavy stone of the new tomb covers the deceased, everything is over, faith seems definitively unmasked as fanaticism. No God has saved this Jesus who called himself his son. One can rest assured. Those sober ones, who may at times have secretly vacillated in their conviction that there is nothing else, they were right all along.” (Ratzinger, Sabbath of History, New Haven, CT, 2012, 147). Hence, Holy Saturday brings into sharper focus the question of spiritual darkness in our world.

Thirdly, Ratzinger sees Holy Saturday, the day of his birth, as pertinent from the perspective of the burial of God: “Holy Saturday, day of the burial of God – is that not in an uncanny way our day? Is our century not beginning to become one large Holy Saturday, a day of God’s absence, a day when an icy emptiness grows even in the hearts of the disciples so that they prepare for the way home with shame and fear and on their Emmaus journey, gloomy and disturbed, sink into hopelessness, failing to notice that the one thought to be dead is in their midst (…) God is dead and we have killed him (Nietzsche). We have killed him through the ambiguity of our lives that obscured him.” (Ratzinger, Sabbath of History, 147 – 148). Holy Saturday, therefore, is emblematical of a world that increasingly makes choices without God, a world that, presuming God is dead and buried, excludes God in decision-making. Holy Saturday captures those who see God as sleeping, a deistic conception of divinity, while the world moves on.

Finally, Ratzinger sees Holy Saturday, the day of his birth, as expressive of God’s solidarity with the human race in the experience of the crushing reality of death. The darkness of this day has something consoling about it, for God’s dying in Jesus Christ is a simultaneous expression of God’s radical solidarity with the human race” “The darkest mystery of faith is simultaneously the brightest sign of hope that is without limits.” (Ratzinger, Sabbath of History, 148). From a Ratzingerian perspective, therefore, Holy Saturday embodies the twin realities of pain and hope. In Christ, God has entered fully into the reality of human pain and suffering, descending into Hades. We can no longer make the case that God is ignorant of the human condition. God is able to save us precisely because God has a first-hand experience of what is means to be human, of what it means to suffer, to be betrayed, abandoned, defamed and crucified. A God ignorant of the human lot cannot save humans, cannot help us. Holy Saturday is a testimony that God knows what it means to be human, even to the experience of the tomb.

In all, from the Ratzingerian perspective, Holy Saturday captures the death of God, the burial of God, the absence of God, which, taken together, embody, in the final analysis, God’s solidarity with the human race. But this picture is not bleak and nihilistic, precisely because of the light that comes from the empty tomb. With Christ, there appears a significance difference and newness that offers a new lease of life, saving human beings from the temptation to despair, from the feeling of alienation and brokenness. To Ratzinger, the kinetic energy needed to effect the change emanates from friendship with Jesus Christ. This explains why seeking the face of the Lord, why wishing to see Jesus, is the overarching guiding thread for Ratzinger’s life, which he seeks to communicate to all.

From the experience of his life that has largely matched the drama of the twentieth century and the first decades of the twenty-first, Ratzinger is convinced that only in this friendship with the Living Christ can human beings find the energy, motivation and hope to live in joy in the present, a joy that prepares the present and opens it to a future, for with God, there is a future. In the Foreword to Volume I of his trilogy Jesus of Nazareth, Benedict writes that “this book is in no way an exercise of the magisterium, but is solely an expression of my personal search for the face of the Lord” (cf. Ps 27:8) (Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth, Vol. I, New York, Doubleday, 2007, xxiii). With Ratzinger, a master of theology (as Pope St. Paul VI described him in the papal bull appointing him Archbishop of Munich und Freising in 1977), the world continues to find a sure and steady guide and teacher in the school of friendship with the living Christ, the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14:6). With Ratzinger as teacher, the quest of the Greeks to see Jesus is made contemporary, as reason and all of the human lot recognizes its limits and potentials in the encounter with the Risen Christ, that Ratzinger continuous to point at.

As we celebrate Ratzinger’s 95th Birthday today, Holy Saturday, April 16 2022 – while reflecting on the significance of this day that the living Doctor of the Church from Bavaria calls our attention to as underscored above – today gives us the opportunity of the expression of double-gratitude: firstly, to God, for the inestimablegift of Ratzinger; and secondly, to Ratzinger, for cooperating so uniquely and dazzlingly with the grace of God, placing his fine intellect and profound faith, hidden behind a shy and unassuming demeanor, in the service of Christ and Christ’s Church, as a co-worker of the Truth. AllesGutezumGeburtstag, GeliebterHeiligerVater, und Vergelt’s Gott.

By Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai