Thousands of people are expected to take part in the Ruby Jubilee of the priestly ordination of the Bishop of the Kumbo Diocese Mgr. George Nkuo scheduled for Friday May 7, 2021 at the Kumbo Cathedral.

Every diocese in the English speaking regions and several parishes will be involved in some form of local pilgrimages as part of the major event organized by the church for the Jubilee.

The liturgy will be focused on our hope for the coming of Jesus Christ and the cry of John the Baptist to prepare the way of the Lord.

Major activities will be cancelled as parishes in the Kumbo Diocese joined forces to celebrate the life of a Good Shepherd.

Cameroon Concord News Group understands that the Bishop George Nkuo Ruby Jubilee is not just going to be a religious celebration but also a community event and in many parishes it will be ecumenical.

Concord Group Chairman Soter Agbaw-Ebai said it will be the most significant public celebration of a Man of God by the entire Christian community.

George Nkuo the founding father of the Cameroon Catholic Community in Mulheim an der Ruhr, Federal Republic of Germany was born on the 28 January 1953 in Njinikom, Boyo Division in the Archdiocese of Bamenda – North West Region of Cameroon. He did his Secondary and high school education in Bishop Rogan Minor Seminary, Small Soppo, Buea, from 1967-1974 where he obtained the General Certificate of Education, Ordinary and Advanced Levels.

He was then admitted in the Regional Major Seminary, Bambui, where he studied for the priesthood from 1974-1981. He completed his priestly formation in philosophical and theological studies with a Bachelors Degree in Philosophy in 1977 and a Bachelor Degree in Divinity in 1981 respectively.

He was ordained priest for the Diocese of Buea on the 26th of April 1981 at Small Soppo, Buea by the Right Reverend Pius Suh Awa, Bishop of Buea. He is of the second batch of priests trained in the present St. Thomas Aquinas’ Major Seminary, Bambui.

He did postgraduate studies in St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, National University of Ireland (1989-1991) where he specialized in Education and obtained a Master’s Degree in the Science of Education.

Bishop George is known for his time spent as the Curate and Manager of Catholic Schools in the St. Joseph’s Parish, Mamfe and Kumba Town. He was Chancellor for the Diocese of Buea and Principal of St. Francis’ College, Fiango, Kumba. Before coming to the Diocese of Kumbo he was Catholic Education Secretary for the Diocese of Buea From 1994 to 2006.

Previous assignments include Provincial Chairman of the Association of Diocesan Priests, Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province; National/Diocesan Chaplain of the Catholic Women’s Association. Bishop George was also Member of the Council of Cameroon General Certificate of Education Examination Supervisory Board, member of Presbyteral Council and College of Consultors of the Diocese of Buea.

He was ordained a bishop and installed as the second Bishop of the Diocese of Kumbo on September 8, 2006.

After his appointed as Bishop, he became Chairman of the Episcopal Commission for Education in the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (CNEC) and in 2009; he became member of the Study Week of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences in Rome as well as member of the Permanent Committee of the Cameroon Episcopal Conference.

From the beginning of his episcopacy, Bishop George Nkuo expressed the hope that a Bishop’s responsibilities are first to the Diocese where he is ordained to oversee. This he makes visible in the way he is available to the Priests, Religious, Seminarians and Faithful in the Diocese of Kumbo. In his first meeting with his priests upon his appointment as Bishop of Kumbo, he insisted that the priests, his co-workers were to be seen as his main collaborators and emphasized on team work/collaborative ministry. Today, he recognizes the talents and abilities of the priests, religious, and laity and is ever more willing to work with them at all levels for the evangelization of the Church in Kumbo.

Bishop George is working very hard to build Catholic education, in the Catholic schools in the Diocese as well as in the religious education programs of the parishes. He has introduced the Catholic Education Week and the Bishop’s Education Fund which contributes in forming young people to become integral and holistic scholars. He is planning for the future construction of the Medical Department of the newly created Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda, and also carrying out improvements in the existing Schools in the Diocese.

One of the landmarks was the celebration of the centenary of the faith in the diocese of Kumbo in 2012. It was 100 years since the German Sacred Heart Fathers of St. Quentin arrived Kumbo. It was celebrated under the theme “We no longer believe because of what you told us” (John 4:42).

What is even more important for him, is pastoral plans, to be able to reach out to the people of God not only to preach the Gospel but also to be close to them in their needs is effectively being carried out. He has been trying to meet the Christians in their Parishes every year during pastoral visits and to set up little projects in the area of health and education to reassure the people of Kumbo and especially those in the remotest parts that they are not abandoned.

By Patience Ngwacalar Atanga in Essen in Germany

Fr. Ngenge Godlove Bong-aba who grew up in the Archdiocese of Bamenda in Cameroon’s Northwest region recalls several instances he has been harassed by the country’s security forces on allegations that he was connected to militants in the Central African nation.

In an interview with ACI Africa Wednesday, March 31, the former Parish Priest of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Esu Parish of Bamenda Archdiocese says that members of the Clergy whose only concern is to uphold the dignity of human life in the country are sometimes accused of siding with those who oppose the government.

“My challenges reflect those of the Catholic Church as a whole in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon,” Fr. Godlove told ACI Africa.

He added, “In my quest to uphold the truth, condemn injustice and defend the God-given dignity of the human being, I am sometimes misunderstood, suspected and misrepresented as supporting one or the other camp by the regime as well as the actors advocating for the breakaway state of Ambazonia!”

Ambazonia is a self-proclaimed independent state by separatists in Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West regions.

Efforts to create the state are at the heart of the ongoing conflict that has led to the death of over 3,000 people and displacement of over 679,000 others. The conflict that started with a strike of a section of teachers and lawyers in the two regions has also left more than 600,000 children unable to go to school.

Fr. Godlove recalls a particular incident in 2020 when he was summoned by a group of military men that were setting up camp at a village near his Parish.

“I was introduced to the highest in command in the entire Division (a Colonel), who told me to my face that he did not trust Priests, Bishops and the Catholic Church as far as the crisis was concerned!” the Priest told ACI Africa.

He went on to narrate, “He (the Colonel) kept us there for over an hour, obtaining information from a Fulani motorbike rider concerning a boy who was riding my Parish motorbike, whom he suspected to be an armed separatist.”

The 33-year-old Priest who recently went to work on a project in South Africa says that were it not for the word of the Fulani, the military would have taken the young man into custody “and probably shot him and disposed of his body.”

In a separate incident, Fr. Godlove was denied access to an Outstation of his Parish by an armed separatist.

Recalling the event, he says, “I was with the same boy and they searched us thoroughly and emptied all my stuff on the ground; also claiming that I had shown the military the way to go and attack their colleagues.”

In this particular altercation, the Cameroonian Priest was ordered to leave immediately and warned never to minister at the outstation again.

Fr. Godlove is currently working with the Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI) that has been closely monitoring the situation in the conflict hit part of Cameroon for about two years now.

He shares with ACI Africa that the work of the institute of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) is to “meticulously record and report human rights violations in the country.”

The institute is also working to rouse the international community into action to work in bringing about an end to the conflict.

Fr. Godlove says that clashes between the Cameroonian military and armed separatists still occur from time to time.

“Except for a few schools that run in urban areas under strict military protection, schools remain closed down for all these years,” he says, and adds, “Teachers and students are targeted by separatist fighters in order to ensure effective school boycott.”

In the two English-speaking regions, there are “routine ghost town days” every Monday and total lockdown days to frustrate government activities.

Kidnapping for ransom by separatist fighters makes life unbearable for people in the conflict areas, he says.

“Esu where I worked is one of the hardest-hit areas in the conflict,” the Catholic Priest shares, adding that the local population suffers from the state military who accuse them of collaborating with armed separatists.

On the other hand, separatist fighters deal harshly with anyone suspected of interacting with the military, calling them “blacklegs”.

Blacklegs is a term used by the exiled advocates for separation (activists) and armed separatists to refer to those whom they think want to compromise the struggle for independence (traitors) by collaborating with the state military or other administrators of the regime.

Additionally, teachers, especially government-employed, are abducted, tortured, killed and extorted, Fr. Godlove told ACI Africa, adding that witch hunting and settlement of scores is rampant among the people.

Schools remain shut down in most of the rural areas and very few run in urban areas with heavy military presence, a situation that the Priest says psychologically impacts the learners negatively.

Movement between towns and villages in the conflict areas is very expensive, difficult and dangerous with many checkpoints mounted by both the state military and the separatist fighters, who extort money from passengers and drivers, he says.

“As a result, transport fare has quadrupled as bike riders and drivers risk having their cars, buses and bikes burnt down,” the Priest told ACI Africa during the March 31 interview.

He expressed concern that the number of internally and externally displaced person has kept on rising as a result of kidnapping for ransom in cities and killings by the Fulani gunmen who also loot in some of the rural areas and burn down villages.

Source: aciafrica.org

Pope Francis expresses his condolences for the death of Cardinal Christian Tumi, and praises the Cameroonian Archbishop’s defense of democracy and promotion of human rights.

Cardinal Christian Tumi passed away on Good Friday, 2 April, in a clinic in the Cameroonian city of Douala.

Pope Francis sent a telegram on Easter Sunday to express his condolences for the Cardinal’s death.

The Pope’s message was addressed to Archbishop Samuel Kleda, the Archbishop of Douala and Cardinal Tumi’s successor.

“On learning with sorrow of the death of our brother Cardinal Christian Tumi, I wish to express my condolences and my union in prayer with the College of Cardinals, the family and friends of the deceased, as well as with all those who mourn him,” wrote the Pope.

Unforgettable mark of service

He added that Cardinal Tumi “left an unforgettable mark on the Church and on the social and political life” of Cameroon.

Cardinal Tumi served from 1979 as the Bishop of Yagoua, then as the Archbishop of Garoua, and finally as the Archbishop of Douala until his retirement in 2009.

He was the African nation’s first Cardinal—created by Pope St. John Paul II in 1988.

Defender of democracy, servant to Popes

Pope Francis said the late Cardinal always committed himself “courageously to the defense of democracy and the promotion of human rights.”

He also praised Cardinal Tumi’s desire to promote peace and reconciliation “in his old age.”

“He was a faithful collaborator of the Popes, assuming various offices in the Roman Curia,” wrote Pope Francis. “May the Lord welcome His servant into His peace and joy!”

Source: Vatican News

Archbishop Samuel Kleda said that Cardinal Tumi who had been ill for some time, passed away peacefully during the night in his sleep at the IDIMED polyclinic in Douala. Samuel Kleda succeeded Cardinal Tumi when he resigned.

Born 15 October 1930 in Kikaikelaki village in Kumbo Bui Division in the North West region, Cardinal Tumi had a long and distinguished academic career and those who knew him recognised his desire for holiness and his gentleness and humility of character.

Tumi was a strong advocate for social justice and always highlighted the difficulties facing communities in both French and English speaking Cameroon.  Throughout his ministry and his life Cardinal Tumi dedicated great passion and commitment to the people of his diocese.

Tumi led the Douala Archdiocese at a very difficult time and recognised the need to allow younger generations to take-up leadership roles in the Church. He was much locked into the church’s side and on Canon Law, defending the church.

After being ordained a priest on 17 April 1966 for the diocese of Buea, Christian Wiyghan Tumi went to pursue his education in Nigeria and then in Great Britain followed by a spell at the Catholic Institute of Theology Lyon (France) and the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) where he obtained a doctorate.

Upon his return to Cameroon, he was appointed rector of the regional major seminary in Bambui in the archdiocese of Bamenda. He had a meteoric rise in the Roman Catholic system- Bishop of Yagoua, coadjutor archbishop of Garoua, a diocese which he became archbishop on 17 March 1984. Finally, he became Archbishop of Douala on 31 August 1991, until his retirement. Christian Wiyghan Tumi was the only cardinal in Cameroon.

By Rita Akana

Huddled in a corner of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Angele Percenita struggled to contain her tears, overwhelmed to be marking Good Friday in Jerusalem’s Old City after last year’s lockdown.

Percenita, a Filipina caregiver in Israel who said she has been fully inoculated against coronavirus, was one of hundreds of faithful who visited Christianity’s holiest site on the day.

“It’s so, so much better than last year,” she told AFP.

Usually thousands mark Good Friday with a procession tracing the 14 Stations of the Cross, the route Christians believe Jesus walked while carrying his cross before being crucified.

Last year, as the pandemic was intensifying and with Jerusalem in its first of three coronavirus lockdowns, only four faithful retraced Christ’s footsteps along the Old City’s narrow cobbled streets.

Last year was also the first time the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — the site of Christ’s crucifixion and burial, according to tradition — had been closed for Easter in at least a century.

Israel — which annexed east Jerusalem including the Old City in 1967 — has vaccinated more than half of its 9.3 million residents, allowing the reopening of most major sites.

Lina Sleibi, a Palestinian Christian, recalled watching Easter mass online in 2020.

“Last year it was very hard. We felt like the city was dead,” said the 28-year-old who sings at church services in the West Bank holy city of Bethlehem nearby.

Now, “you feel alive again,” she said.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the final stop on the Stations of the Cross.

Hundreds of faithful, led by religious leaders bearing a cross, wound towards the church along the Via Dolorosa (Path of Sorrow) that snakes through the Old City.

While the modest crowd marked a step towards normalcy, the turnout was still minimal compared to the thousands that typically flock to Jerusalem during Easter.

– Small crowds –

In 2019, 25,000 people gathered in the city for Palm Sunday, according to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Angleena Keizer, a minister with the Church of Scotland, told AFP it felt “special” to be marking one of Christianity’s most important days at its holiest site without crowds of tourists.

“It’s nice to walk down the street when it’s not packed with tourists.

“But, on the other hand, we would prefer for them to be here because of the economy and for people to be able to experience Easter on the Holy Land from around the world.”

Despite Israel’s reopening, tourists are still broadly barred from entering the country.

Bader Rabadi, a Palestinian tour guide, said it was “painful (and) frustrating” to watch mass online last year, in contrast to this year’s feeling of “celebration”.

But something is still missing, he said, voicing hope that next year Christians from around the world will again be able to mark Easter in the Holy City.

“Jerusalem is not ours. It’s for everyone,” he said.

Source: AFP

The death has occurred, after a brief illness, of the Vicar for clergy in the Bamenda Archdiocese, Rev Fr. Patrick Nyuydini Lafon, who also moonlighted as lecturer at the Catholic University of Bamenda.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea expressed his sympathy to the family and friends of the Vicar and said priests of the metropolitan Archdiocese were saddened by the news of his passing as he held, over many years, several roles of leadership and responsibility in the Archdiocese of Bamenda and nationally.

Fr. Patrick Lafon was ordained a priest 43 yrs ago and was among the last outstanding academic batch of Cameroonian priests trained in Bigard seminary that celebrated their forty years in priesthood in 2017.

Cameroon Concord News Group understands that his final alumni celebration included Fr John Bosco Ambe, Fr William Neba, Fr Polycarp Fonjock (RIP) and Fr Martin Kima.

Fr. Lafon was National Catholic Education Secretary, and Secretary General of the National Episcopal Conference.

He spent 15 years in the nation’s capital and facilitated the growth and solid establishment of the English speaking Catholic Communities in Yaoundé from Etougebe to Nsimeyong.

He mastered the modus operandi of the Cameroon Catholic Church hierarchy, and gained a reputation for speaking truth to power, in very difficult times such as the tragic death of Fr Patrick Adeso at the Catholic University, unexplained till date.

At the end of his tenure in French Cameroun, Fr. Lafon pursued a doctoral studies at the Catholic University of America, CUA (Washington DC) in Metaphysics under the direct supervision of renowned John Wippel, a leading scholar on Thomistic Metaphysics, and wrote a thesis on “Virtue in Politics” according to Yves Simon.

Upon return he was made principal of St Paul’s College, Nkwen, and lecturer in Metaphysics & Epistemology at  STAMS Bambui. When the Catholic University in Bamenda opened the Department of Philosophy, he became a part of the CATUC family and rose to the rank of Dean of Faculty replacing Prof Paul Nkwi.

Fr. Lafon’s last public appearance was his coordination of the encounter between the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Palorin with the clergy of the Archdiocese of Bamenda. He was frank, candid and he provided a thoughtful key to understanding the Southern Cameroons Crisis.

He will be greatly missed by his students at St John Paul II Major Seminary, Bachuo Ntai in Manyu Division, where he lectured Metaphysics & Epistemology and also those of CATUC, where he recently launched the Doctoral Program in Philosophy.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Pope Francis appointed Mgsr. Jerome Feudjio on Tuesday to lead the Diocese of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Originally from Cameroon, Feudjio has served as a priest of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ diocese for more than 30 years.

Commenting on Feudjio’s March 2 appointment, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the apostolic administrator of St. Thomas diocese, said: “Bishop-Elect Jerome is no stranger to the people of the diocese. His long history of service and pastoral dedication to the people of this community of faith are well known and widely respected,”

Feudjio, 65, currently serves as the vicar general of the Diocese of St. Thomas and rector of its Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

The Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands was established in 1977 and is the sole suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Washington. The diocese is made up of 30,000 Catholics across the islands of St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, and Water Island.

Feudjio first arrived in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1988 after Cardinal Seán O’Malley, who at the time was a coadjutor bishop of St. Thomas, invited him to work as a campus minister in the Saints Peter and Paul School.

Two years later, he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of St. Thomas and appointed as parochial vicar of the cathedral. He taught French and religion at the Catholic school and went on to serve in multiple positions within the diocese, including as director of vocations, finance officer, administrator, and chancellor.

Born in Cameroon in 1955, Feudjio entered religious life at the age of 17 as a postulant for the Congregation of the Fathers of the Sacred Heart (SCJ). He attended their Saint Apostles Seminary in Otele, Cameroon, from 1972 to 1975, as well as the major seminary in the capital city of Yaoundé from 1975 to 1979.

While still in formation in 1980, Feudjio traveled to the United States, where he met the then Fr. Seán O’Malley, who invited him to stay and study in Washington, D.C.

Feudjio completed his studies in philosophy and theology in the Archdiocese of Washington at Oblate College, and in 1987 joined the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, making a temporary religious profession.

During his time in the U.S., Feudjio completed a graduate program at Southern Illinois University in the Administration of Justice Program, through which he interned at a local transitional house that helped former inmates readjust to society.

In 2004, Bishop George V. Murry, S.J., who served as bishop of St. Thomas from 1999 to 2007, asked Feudjio to return to Southern Illinois University to pursue further graduate studies in Rehabilitation Administration.

Feudjio has served as rector of the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in the U.S. Virgin Islands since 2008.

As bishop of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Feudjio will succeed Bishop Herbert Bevard, who retired in September after he was hospitalized and airlifted to the U.S. mainland for medical treatment.

“Regrettably, I have experienced some new and unanticipated medical conditions that unfortunately preclude my ability to continue to maintain my position in the Diocese of St. Thomas,” Bevard wrote in a letter to the diocese on Sept. 18.

“I have loved serving the People of God; the clergy, religious, laity, and the entire Virgin Islands community in the Diocese of St. Thomas and will treasure the fond memories that we share together. It is this same love and concern for them, recognizing my own limitations, that now compel me to make this request,” he said.

Bevard, 75, has remained in North Carolina for ongoing medical treatment. He led the Diocese of St. Thomas for 12 years.

Pope Francis appointed the then Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington to serve as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of St. Thomas until the new bishop is installed.

“I readily join the clergy, religious, and faithful of the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands today in warmly welcoming Pope Francis’ appointment of Msgr. Jerome Feudjio as the sixth Bishop of this local Church,” Cardinal Gregory said.

“He now begins a new chapter in his own life and in all of your lives as well. Please keep him in your prayers as he transitions into his new office as I am certain he will hold all of you securely in his daily prayers from this day forward.”

Source: Angelusnews

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin expresses Pope Francis’ closeness and concern for Cameroon and the African continent, in his homily during the imposition of the pallium on Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda.

“The Pope is well aware of the difficulties that you have experienced in recent years and which you are still experiencing. He implores the Lord’s consolation for you, especially for those who have been victims of violence or who, in this crisis, have lost friends and loved ones.”

Those were the words delivered by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in his homily at Mass in Bamenda for the imposition of the pallium on Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya.

He expressed Pope Francis’ closeness to the people of Cameroon, as well as to the entire African continent.

The Pope, added the Cardinal, “joins in the desire for peace and reconciliation that rises from this beloved and wonderful land toward God.”

Reconciliation, compassion, hospitality

Cardinal Parolin arrived in Cameroon last Thursday accompanied by Monsignor Ivan Santus, an official with the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State.

His visit is meant to be a concrete sign of the Pope’s commitment and solidarity, and a call to promote compassion, reconciliation, and healing, especially in the context of the ongoing Covid-19 humanitarian emergency.

In communion with the Pope

“The Pallium,” explained Cardinal Parolin in Bamenda Cathedral, “is a symbol of a special bond of communion with the Pope. It is woven from the wool of lambs blessed by him on the feast of St. Agnes, and evokes the figure of the Good Shepherd, who goes in search of the lost sheep and places it on His shoulders. It represents the power that the Archbishop exercises in his Diocese, in communion with the Supreme Pontiff. It is a sign rich in meaning, which powerfully inaugurates the mandate of every new Archbishop: his new ministry is placed from the beginning under the sign of communion, in obedience and union with the Holy Father and in communion with his brother Bishops.”

With the Gospel in his pocket

“While many voices resound around us; while so many want to act as teachers in our lives,” the Cardinal stressed, we need to give “unique weight to the Word of Christ.”

“For this reason,” he added, “the Pope, on several occasions, has invited us to carry a small book of the Gospels with us. ‘The Gospel in your pocket’ is not a slogan but a spiritual program.”

The effectiveness of the Word

“Jesus desires good for humanity, and therefore frees us from Evil,” said Cardinal Parolin. “Jesus is able to completely free us precisely through His simple and powerful Word: Come out of him! There are no magic formulas; not even strange gestures: it is His Word that is exceedingly effective.”

The Secretary of State underlined that “Evil exists and Christ is able to defeat it. It is up to us to carry on this battle every day.”

Serenity and vigilance

Cardinal Parolin then evoked the teaching of the Apostle Paul, indicating two important themes that must mark each person’s spiritual journey: serenity and vigilance.

“Serenity: because with Christ we are victorious, in our adherence to Him through prayer and the Sacramental life. Vigilance: so that we can discern Evil where it lurks, beginning with our own hearts.”

Seed of hope

Cardinal Parolin then urged the faithful of Cameroon to combat the violence, divisions and fratricidal struggles that afflict the nation.

“He who fights against the evil that dwells in his heart becomes a bearer of good and peace in his family, among his friends, in his community. He thus becomes a seed of hope for all.”

Avoiding the risk of spiritual pride

The Vatican Secretary of State concluded his homily by recalling that after two thousand years, amazement before the Lord Jesus is a precious attitude to be guarded with care.

“We should never stop reflecting on this Mystery, so that we avoid the risk of spiritual pride, of those who are convinced that they already know everything about Jesus, without realizing that He is always greater than we can humanly comprehend. We should never cease to marvel before the fundamental Mystery of our Christian faith: that of the Son of God who became man to set us free.”

The Mass in the Cathedral of Bamenda was attended by a large number of the faithful, offering a sign of affection for Archbishop Fuanya and of joyful communion with the Pope who was represented by his Secretary of State.

Source: Vatican News