The crisis in Cameroon which began five years ago between separatist forces and the government has plunged the English-speaking regions of the country into a deadly conflict that has claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions, destroyed properties and is creating a growing humanitarian crisis.

The immediate origins of the crisis stem from legal and educational grievances in 2016 which rapidly escalated into a secessionist political conflict with separatists calling for the creation of an independent state they call “Ambazonia.”

The violence has taken a heavy toll on the civilian populations in the Northwest and Southwest region of the nation, with attacks against schools, extrajudicial killings, kidnappings and a general sense of insecurity forcing millions of Cameroonians to flee to neighbouring countries. In all this, the Church has been vocal, calling for an end to the violence and for reconciliation between the sides in conflict.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea of Bamenda spoke to Vatican News on the sidelines of the 10th World Meeting of Families taking place in Rome, highlighting the Church’s role in the service of peace and dialogue in the country.

The people are most affected in the crisis

Archbishop Nkea notes that the Church’s major difficulty in its advocacy during the crisis is navigating “the thin line of neutrality” in the sense of not belonging to any side of the conflict between the government and the separatists, while trying to advocate for peace and reconciliation.

In fact, he explains, “sometimes the government thinks we are not condemning the separatists enough, and most of the time the separatists think that we are not taking a tough enough stance against the government.”

However, the Archbishop insists that the focus is “the People of God” – the suffering people, the students out of school and those who have been displaced by the conflict and forced to flee to neighbouring countries including Nigeria. For these people, he insists, “I am ready to give my life – not for separatists, not for the government!”

The Church in service of peace, dialogue

Since the start of the conflict, the Church has channeled her efforts towards restoring peace and reconciliation in the country, explains the Archbishop, who is also the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Cameroon.

These efforts have also been complemented with humanitarian assistance to those affected by the fighting, including medical care backed by aid from international organizations including the WHO and the UN refugee agency.

According to the UN, about 2 million people affected by the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon need humanitarian assistance and 1.4 million of the most vulnerable are targeted by humanitarian partners for assistance. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says over $139.9 is needed to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable and limited funding has been a major constraint in this regard.

The Archbishop further reiterates the Church’s conviction that “the only way to resolve the conflict in Cameroon is through dialogue” which the Church has been trying to facilitate between the separatists and the government, in spite of challenges.

“We focus on what is right and we go on with what is right even to the point of death. We will talk to both parties and make sure that at some point they are able to dialogue and bring this crisis to an end.”

Violence begets more violence

The crisis in the English-speaking regions has led to the deaths of more than 4,000 civilians and hundreds of members of security forces.

Archbishop Nkea strongly condemns the killings, stressing that we “cannot get peace and justice by killing each other.”

“Let us realize that we are not killing ourselves to arrive at good. We can only kill ourselves and arrive at more killing and more violence.”

Source: Vatican News

The Parishioners

Ste Anne, Salem MA

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

Dear Holy People of God,

 Appointment of Fr. Casmia Wiybirwo BELLO as Parish Priest of Ste. Anne’s Church, Salem MA

With great joy, I write to inform you that on Thursday, June 23, His Eminence, Sean Cardinal O’Malley, appointed Fr. Casmia W. Bello, priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mamfe, Cameroon, as parish priest of Ste. Anne Parish, Salem MA, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.

Fr. Casmia was born on February 14, 1981 in Nso, Bui Division of Cameroon. He did his Minor Seminary studies at St. Aloysius Minor Seminary Kitiwum, Kumbo. He went on to obtain a BA in Philosophy from St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, Bambui, Cameroon; a BSc in Economics from the University of Buea, Cameroon; and a BA in Theology from Blessed Iwene Tansi Major Seminary, Onitsha, Nigeria, graduating Summa Cum Laude.

Fr Casmia was ordained a priest on July 5th 2014 in Mamfe, Cameroon. After his ordination he served as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception parish Nguti, Cameroon; Parish Priest cum School Manager of Holy Eucharist parish Tinto, Cameroon (Sept. 2014 – Oct. 2016). From November 2016 to June 2020, he served as Parish Priest cum School Manager of Divine Mercy Parish Nkongle, and also Principal of John Paul II Secondary School, Nkongle, Cameroon.

In the Spring of 2020, Fr Casmia was missioned to Boston College by the Most Rev. Andrew F. Nkea, JCD, then Apostolic Administrator of Mamfe Diocese, for graduate studies. He obtained an MA in Leadership and Administration from Boston College in May 2022. While residing at Ste. Anne’s in the duration of his graduate studies, Fr Casmia has served as a Chaplain of the Catholic Women Association, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Branch, Boston, MA; Chaplain of the Precious Blood of Jesus Devotional Group, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston; and recently, Chaplain of the Jesus is Lord Catholic Charismatic Group, Ste. Anne Church.

On a personal note, I would say that it has been a privilege to count myself a friend of Fr. Casmia for over 22 years and counting. His humility; his deep faith in the living Lord; his love for our Blessed Mother Mary; his unassuming personality; his profound piety and deep love for the Church, hidden behind a shy demeanor, and more, in my opinion, make Fr. Casmia a great gift to you, the people of God of this beautiful and culturally diverse family of God that is Ste. Anne’s. Living with Fr. Casmia these two years here in Salem, I have found in him a dependable priest of God, someone you can count on as a spiritual leader. I firmly believe that in Fr. Casmia, you will find a pastor’s heart that will love you, willing to accompany you on the holy journey, sharing in your joys and crosses, in a spirit of great patience, for as Benedict XVI beautifully reminds us, the world is saved by God’s patience and destroyed by the impatience of men and women.

In Fr. Casmia, you will find a priest that will always be there for and with you. I think of Augustine of Hippo’s sermon on John 10: the shepherd, unlike the hireling and the brigand, never runs or shy away from the cross, precisely because what animates the shepherd is love for Christ, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the consciousness, as Pope St. Paul VI will write centuries letter in his August 1964 encyclical EcclesiamSuam, that the Church, the people of God, its human dimension notwithstanding, is a reality that came about thanks to the explicit will of Christ.Paul VI’s great and esteemed successor, Benedict XVI, will describe this reality of the Church as the will of Christ with the iconic phrase, “the Church, the story God himself has created.”And from my own limited experience of “daily becoming a Christian” (Kierkegaard), and a priest, I can say that to love Christ always comes with the reality of suffering, of the Cross. It was the French philosopher Blaise Pascal that captured this aspect when he declared this ageless axiom, “Christ is on the Cross, until the end of the world.”

Dear Holy People of God, this is my last formal communication with you. From Monday June 27, 2022, I will cease being the spiritual leader of this beautiful family. It has been a journey with great spiritual joys. I think of the little steps that together, with the living Jesus in our midst that we were able to initiate. Amongst others, the Year of the Bible comes to mind, which has led to our monthly Bible Study sessions, moderated by Professors from Boston College and St John’s Seminary, Boston; I think of the daily community Rosary prayers; I think of the Thursdays Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; I think of the new choirs, especially the Children’s choir; I think of the celebration of the 120th Anniversary of our parish; then we have our Men’s Faith Sharing Group; the Charismatic Group; the Precious Blood Group; the Book Club; the Pro-Life Group; the Prayer Ministry; the strengthening of the new communities, especially the welcoming of the Congolese Community into the parish; the strengthening of the Parish and Finance councils and the other new ministries. How can we not be grateful to the living Lord for our Advent and Lenten retreats, especially those on the “Our Father” and the “Mysteries of the Holy Mass”! And now, we are launching our parish Year of the Eucharist, which will be the task of Fr. Casmia to bring to completion, as part of our Five-Year Spiritual Development Plan, that together as a parish family, we launched in the Fall of 2019.

I also think of the complete renovation of our parish rectory; the heating and other repairs in our Church building; and now, the repairs of the parish center building which Fr. Casmia, by God’s grace, in a spirit of a hermeneutic of continuity, will have to bring to completion. I encourage especially the new communities of the parish to be especially generous to this effort. As I have often pointed out concerning fundraising, faith is free, but religion is very expensive. Over time, Fr. Casmia will need to raise half a million dollars to completely repair and modernize the parish center. And since the Church will be here until the Second Coming of Christ, we have to do our part to preserve the physical structures of the parish. We owe it to the next generation to preserve, as much as we humanly can, the structures that earlier generations have bequeathed to us. You will be supporting the ministry of Fr. Casmia if you make it a point of duty to contribute towards the repairs of the pastoral center, including it in your grocery list, vacation budgets, your wills, etc. All these small steps, I believe, have helped us and will continue to help us appreciate the beauty of the Church as a “living organism,” to use the phrase of the Italian-German precursor of the Second Vatican Council, Romano Guardini. I have always been amazed by the vision that the Apostle John saw while a prisoner in the Island of Patmos: After this, Looked, there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Revelation 7:9). Is this what our parish family is? People from different continents gathered around the living Lord! John’s vision reveals the fascinating character of the Church in heaven.

As I have pointed out severally, the Church is not a product of a Cartesian res cogitans, whose being emanates from our clever thinking. If anything, the Church goes ahead of us, of our thinking. Her being is a mystery that even when we strive to capture all the intricacies that mark her being, it is in the nature of the Church to be more than we can think of her. The Church is wiser than the most brilliant professor from Harvard or Boston College, in that the Church’s wisdom is the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Hence, the proper hermeneutical framework for approaching the Church, in fact, the most comprehensive basis for understanding Ste. Anne as a part of the Church is faith, a faith that seeks to understand. This is not to discard rationality. In fact, on a subjective note, I tend to understand and thanks to my understanding, I believe. Faith, God, and the Church, from my own perspective, appear to me, in the words of Descartes, as clear and distinct ideas: intellegoutcredam (John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, III). But in all, faith is a legitimate way of seeing the Church and of seeing the world (Pascal). Ratzinger characterizes faith as the organ of the heart that sees. And in seeing the Church with the eyes of faith, we end up seeing ourselves anew, as something willed and loved by God, called to share in God’s life, so much so that in the human aspiration to become God, we answer in the affirmative, with Blondel: yes, we want to become God with God, and not God without God (Hegel and Nietzsche). And only by becoming God with God that we enter into the definitive meaning of who we are as humans, for God has created us for Himself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in God (Augustine of Hippo).

My gratitude to the staff, the volunteers, and Fr. Jim Morris, Fr. Edmund Ugweogbu, Fr. Ernest Egebdike, Fr. Denis Tameh, Fr. Kevin Sakwe and Fr. Casmia Bello, for your companionship and friendship during these years. I wish Fr. Casmia a beautiful and fruitful ministry as the spiritual leader of Ste. Anne. Twenty-two years after we first met as classmates in the Propaedeutic Year at Vianney Centre, Bafut, Cameroon, you are now my successor! Mysterium ecclesiae! Now, with Fr. Casmia, a new chapter beginsin the long history of Ste. Anne’s. Every parish priest opens a new chapter in the life of a parish. God be with Fr. Casmia. Be assured of my closeness in prayer and my moral support. The Blessed Virgin Mary whom you dearly love, will always accompany you with her maternal intercession, now and always.

In Jesus and Mary,

Rev. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai, S.T.D., Ph.D.

Outgoing Parish Priest

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Elected by the bishops of Cameroon during their April 2022 Plenary Assembly as President of NECC, Archbishop Andrew Fuanya NKEA of Bamenda took over officially from Bishop Abraham KOME on Friday 27 May 2022. The ceremony took place at the Conference Centre at Mvolye Yaounde. The day began with a Holy Mass in the chapel at 11am.

The ceremony took place under the direction of Bishop Christophe ZOA Bishop of Sangmelima and President of Juridical Affairs.

In his handing over speech Bishop Kome thanked all and congratulated the new President and his assistant, Bishop Philippe Allain Mbarga, Bishop of Ebolowa. Bishop Kome then gave a rundown of what happened during his tenure of office.

In his inaugural speech Archbishop NKEA said his duty was to do the will of the bishops of Cameroon. He was grateful to Bishop Kome for his achievement and promise to follow along similar lines even if from an Nkea perspective.

His Grace Archbishop Nkea said he has two main preoccupations – peace in Cameroon and the dignity given to Marienberg. The Catholic Church in Cameroon he furthered must take up her prophetic role and all Christians must work in the spirit of fraternity and solidarity, devoted and love the Church.

Fr Norbert Dudek celebrated the 25th anniversary of his priestly ordination on Friday May 20, 2022 at Schwelm Parish.

The Propst of Schwelm and the parish communities, including many Cameroon Catholic Community parishioners in traditional clothing, joined in the celebrations.

Before being the Provost of Ennepetal, Grevenberg and Schwelm Parishes, Propst Dudek was Pastor at the Saint Mariae Rosenkranz in Muelheim until 2013-the reason why members of the Cameroon Catholic Community answered present in Schwelm.

The special Eucharistic Celebration was characterized with an entrance procession and a distinct lectionary procession led by the Catholic Women Association, Queen of Peace branch, Cameroon Catholic Community at the St. Mariae Rosenkranz Muelheim an der Ruhr Germany.

 Whereas this event would have been that of praise showering , show-casing of achievements and perhaps a moment of personal aggrandizement, Propst Dudek  in his natural simplicity used the day to evaluate himself if he has been worthy of his vocational challenges and his relationship to others.

In his homily, he made it clear that he´s just human and called on to be human, despite life´s challenges. To him hope in God doesn´t mean to wait for better things but to have the trust in God irrespective of the outcome – good or bad. He mentioned that in the 25 yrs of vocation he has made numerous experiences with people of different backgrounds and descent, yet he continues to learn. He reiterated the need to think outside the box, to look at something beyond one´s horizon and to be open to new things. A homily that was full of proverbs but one caught the attention of this reporter as it was emphasized – “Mut zurLücke”.

The German phrase Mut zurLücke means, being able to let go. Accepting that things can go wrong, but that there is every reason to believe that the worst will not happen. Here Propst Dudek invites us again to accept the trials of being a Christian and that things may not always be the way we expect them to be.

Propst Dudek is the spiritual founder of the Cameroon Catholic community in Mulheim. He opened the doors to his Parish in October 2009 and this gave birth to the Cameroon Catholic Community.

Immediately after the final blessing, members of the Cameroon Catholic Community surprised him with a symbolic gift.

Revered Father Dudek appreciated immensely the attendees and invited all visitors to the parish hall and garden for refreshment. It was surprisingly plenty.

By Tambe Tanyi in Schwelm

Against the backdrop of escalating violence that has left thousands dead, the newly-ordained bishop of Mamfe, in Cameroon’s troubled South West Region, has sought to give people a sense of hope.

“I come in peace. I come with hope,“ said Bishop Aloysius Fondong Abangalo in comments to the press shortly after his episcopal consecration.

Fondong Abangalo, appointed bishop on Feb. 22, takes over a diocese where government soldiers and separatist fighters have been engaged in running battles since 2017, when the military burnt down several villages in Mamfe in retaliation for separatist attacks on military installations.

English speakers make up about 20 percent of the population of Cameroon and are concentrated in the North West and South West Regions, while the rest of the country is predominantly French speaking.

The Anglophone crisis began when the central government violently suppressed a 2016 protest led by teachers and lawyers claiming the British-based education infrastructure and common law legal system were being taken over by the Francophone majority, the latest case of marginalization and discrimination experienced by the English-speaking minority.

The next year, a separatist rebellion broke out, with militants declaring they wanted to set up a new country called Ambazonia.

Mamfe continues to be a center of the conflict.

In February, the dormitory of Rosary College Okoyong – a renowned Catholic girls’ school in Mamfe – was torched by gunmen who accused the school of preparing to celebrate a national event organized by the central government in Yaoundé.

“I have been appointed Bishop of Mamfe during a very difficult moment in the history of Cameroon,” Fondong Abangalo said on May 5.

“Many would have loved to be part of this celebration, but because of the fear of the unknown, they prefer to stay back. There is no doubt that the territory of the diocese of Mamfe has experienced the worst casualties in what has come to be known as the Anglophone crisis. A cross section of the diocese has been shut down and many of our Christians and our brothers and sisters constitute a greater part of Internally Displaced Persons, with many more seeking refugee status outside the country,” he said.

The president of the Bishops’ Conference of Cameroon, Archbishop Andrew Nkea of Bamenda, noted the devastation the war has caused.

“Bishop Aloysius, you are called to be the Bishop of this great Diocese of Mamfe – the One Family Diocese – at a time when this diocese has known very dark days with war that has rocked the North West and the South West Regions for the past five years,” Nkea said.

“Many of your Christians are either Internally Displaced Persons in other towns of Cameroon or refugees in Nigeria. Farms have been abandoned. Businesses have been closed down and some schools have grown into forests and become hunting grounds for cane rats and antelopes, snakes and monkeys,” the archbishop said.

“You are inheriting a Christian people who have been haggard and battered by the sufferings of the past years, and yet they are yearning for a bright future. You have come to Mamfe as an apostle of hope to the people of this diocese,” he said. “This war started in Mamfe and I am convinced that the end of this war will come from Mamfe.”

Fondong Abangalo said he recognized the daunting task in front of him. The bishop said he was coming to Mamfe “ready to support in any way possible the initiatives taken so far to put an end to this war. War is never a solution to any problem. In fact, war always leaves a people worse off than it met them.”

Referencing Pope Francis’s efforts to restore peace in South Sudan, particularly when he kissed the feet of the warring South Sudan leaders during a meeting at the Vatican, the bishop said, “I know it is not possible for me to kiss the feet of those who have kept the steam of this war. However, as your brother, I stand here today and I beg each of you from my heart: Please, let’s do whatever it takes to put an end to this war. Let us look at the misery of our brothers and sisters and give peace a chance.”

Nkea reiterated the Catholic Church’s commitment to peace and gave a warning to those who promoted violence.

“An apostle of peace is a promoter of justice without violence…for all who live by the sword shall die by the sword,” the archbishop said.

He also emphasized the importance of hope.

“Where hope is absent, faith itself is called into question. Love too is weakened by the loss of this virtue,” Nkea said.

Source: Crux

PRESENTATION OF A SPECIAL GIFT TO THE   THE RT REV DR ALOYSIUS ABANGALO FONDONG ON THE OCCASION OF HIS EPISOCOPAL  ORDINATION AS THE THIRD RESIDENTIAL BISHOP AND HIS CANONICAL POSSESSION OF THE DIOCESE OF MAMFE 

–              MAMFE DIOCESE, ONE FAMILY! MAMFE DIOCESE, ONE FAMILY! MAMFE DIOCESE, ONE FAMILY!

–              Your Excellency BETI ASSOMO Joseph, Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defense, Personal Representative of the Head of State,

–              Your Excellency, Julio MURAT, Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea,

–              Your Grace Andrew Fuanya NKEA, Archbishop of Bamenda, President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon and President of the Bamenda Provincial Episcopal Conference, (BAPEC),

–              Your Graces Archbishops and Your Lordships Bishops,

–              The Rt. Rev. FONKI Samuel Forba, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon,

–              Your Excellencies members of Government,

–              The Governor of the South West Region,

–              Honourable Vice President of the Senate,

–              The Senior Divisional Officer for Manyu

–              Honourable members of Parliament,

–              The Divisional Officer for Mamfe,

–              The Mayor of Mamfe,

–              The Paramount Chief of Mamfe,

–              All other  judicial, civil, traditional and military authorities,

–              Priests and Religious,

–              Christ’s lay faithful of the Mamfe Diocese,

–              Distinguished guests,  ladies and gentlemen.

I stand here in my humble capacity as a member of Christ’s lay faithful of the One Family, Mamfe Diocese who was called upon on March 24th, 2022, by His Grace Andrew NKEA, the Archbishop of Bamenda, then Apostolic Administrator of the Mamfe Diocese, to accompany the Diocese in the organization of the Episcopal Ordination of the new Bishop of Mamfe.

Judging the mammoth crowd in front of us, one can deduce that we have registered a huge success. In as much as we would have loved to take credit for the success of this event, we can’t, because this was much of a team effort.

The effort of an Organizing Committee comprising a Steering Committee and thematic Sub-committees made up of dynamic and able men and women, Priests, religious and Christ’s lay faithful, all working under the visionary and astute leadership of Archbishop NKEA. His Grace Andrew NKEA has in fact been Chair of the Organizing Committee as well as the Steering Committee, although he would rather have me wear that crown.

The role that was bequeathed me was that of General Coordinator of the Sub-committees, assisted by two able sons of the Diocese, lay faithful like myself, and who I would like to call upon to join me on this rostrum:

Mr TASONG Paul Njukang – Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Economy, Plan and Regional Development, who is the vice-Coordinator in charge of Finance and Logistics and representing the LEBIALEM Deanery.

Mr OKIE Johnson Ndoh, – Director General of the Hydrocarbons Price Stabilization Fund, better known by its French acronym CSPH. Mr OKIE Johnson who is the vice Coordinator in charge of Material Organization, representing the NGUTI Deanery, is also the President of the Association of Men of Honour, the Catholic Men’s Association (CMA).

Saint Joseph, Man of Honour pray for us!

Saint Joseph, Man of Honour pray for us!

Saint Joseph, Man of Honour pray for us!

It is worth mentioning here that within the Coordination I represent the three Deaneries of Manyu Division viz: AKWAYA, EYUMOJOCK and MAMFE.

Of course we are not forgetting our Rapporteurs in the persons of Mr TANJU Charles, Etchu Daniel OJONG and AJEH Nicholas and our focal points in Yaoundé, Douala, Buea, Limbe, Kumba, Bamenda, the USA /Canada and Europe /Germany. They all did a marvelous job towards the success we are celebrating today. To them I say Kudos!

Your Excellency the Personal Representative of the Head of State,

Your Excellencies, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

The mission of the Coordination was to sensitize, mobilize and galvanize the sons and daughters of Lebialem Division, Manyu Division and Nguti Sub-division and their friends, at home and in the Diaspora, for them to adhere to this initiative and participate physically, materially, financially and otherwise, towards the successful organization of this ceremony and the acquisition of a befitting gift for the Chief Shepherd of the Mamfe Diocese.

After five grueling weeks, we have been able to cajol our brothers, sisters and our friends of the Catholic Church, of other Christian denominations as well as some Moslem faithful, to accompany us on this journey. We are pleased to report here that your response to the our fundraising appeal towards the financing of the above twin objectives has been overwhelming.

We want to thank and congratulate the laity, the Priests and religious who live locally within the Diocese for their sustained efforts and multifaceted sacrifices – in kind, in labour, in cash and who toiled night and day to make this ceremony beautiful.

At this juncture, it is our distinguished honour and singular privilege to announce to this august assembly that the SPECIAL FRIENDS OF THE  DIOCESE AND OF THE BISHOP OF MAMFE have through their selfless donations have made it possible for the purchase of a Brand New Four Wheel Drive TOYOTA PRADO VX Full options – leather interior, alloy wheels and what have you? as a special gift for His Lordship Aloysius Abangalo FONDONG, the third residential BISHOP of the Mamfe Diocese; an appropriate car to enable him undertake his pastoral duties of evangelization and the promotion of social peace and living together within the Mamfe Diocese and beyond.

For obvious reasons attributable due to the contextual challenges imposed on us by the persistent health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant economic crisis, this brand new car could not be handed to the Bishop today, but we want to assure you that it has been ordered and paid for. Consequently we will now proceed to symbolically hand it to him  through this list of the Donors who made this possible.

May I once more express our heartfelt appreciation to the sons and daughters of Lebialem Division, Manyu Division and Nguti Sub-division at home and abroad and their friends for their largesse in making the financial resources available to enable us achieve our twin objectives of footing the bill of the material organization of this ceremony and the acquisition of a befitting gift for our Chief Shepherd.

May the seed you have sown in the Lord’s vineyard multiply a million fold and May the Almighty and Merciful God bless you abundantly.

Thank you for your kind attention.