Religion

Corruption in the PCC: Bad news for Moderator Fonki Samuel

25, July 2022

Corruption in the PCC: Bad news for Moderator Fonki Samuel 0

From:  Brother Jonathan Fru Awasom ( JAF)

To: Rev. Fonki Samuel Forba, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon,

Subject:  Why have you forsaken the Truth?

Dear Rev Fonki Samuel,

In keeping with 1 Timothy 3,I bring greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ and for the sake of the founding generation of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC).

According to 1 John 2: 21 ” I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth”.

We have known ourselves far back when I was a youth Pastor like yourself some 22 yearsago. You will neither be reading from me for the first time nor foreign to where I stand about corruption in Presbyterian Church in Cameroon and PCC- USA. It is obvious to me that you, your wife and cronies are determined to ruin the PCC taking advantage of the corrupt political regime that has failed to hold corrupt Anglophone leaders accountable thereby enabling the current Anglophone violent conflict.

Instead of being a prophetic voice and the conscience of the state during these tough times in Cameroon, you have become more like the state exploiting God’s people and enabling all the atrocities of the Cameroon regime against the downtrodden, majority of whom are children and women internally displaced and suffering in the bushes and crowded cities across the country. All you care is to gather some of them to exploit.

I am sick to my stomach about how you have become a pestering sore to the church and Christians. Since you were selected by your predecessors to replace them as the next Moderator, your reign has been rat-infested by theft of church funds, accusations of abuse of power, gross violation of the Constitution of the PCC, distortion and tampering with the Constitution to suit you and your cohorts at home and here in the USA.

I have also read articles widely circulated calling upon you to account for private business investments you have carried out while in Office as the Moderator (President of the PCC) whereby you have hijacked the office of the Moderator to hold shares in private businesses using church funds to invest in your name and family members as though PCC is your private owned company.

You have been accused of bullying Pastors and Christians who question your motives when convinced beyond any reasonable doubts that your conduct was/is not in alignment with the execution of your office as Moderator (First amongst Equals). For instance, you were accused of indulging with a war of words with a community of Presbyterian Christians in locations here in the United States to the extent which your actions split the Church. It is alleged that a small group of people loyal to you decided to site with you while majority broke away. I have to wonder what PCC is doing in the United States?

In Cameroon, your propensity to divide and conquer is alarming with detail reports about perpetual conflicts and animosity under your watch and even so orchestrated by your corrupt leadership style. I have been deeply troubled by your corrupt activities within the PCC Community and wanted to address these issues directly with you because they are very serious. The Cameroon Intelligence Report captioned

“PCC Cameroon under Rev Fonki: Corruption runs rampant. Who should we hold responsible? – Cameroon Intelligence Report” is just one of the numerous publications x-raying the culture of corruption you have masterminded in the PCC since you became Moderator.

PCC Cameroon under Rev Fonki: Corruption runs rampant. Who should we hold responsible?

Therefore, I urge you to give me your undivided attention and to consider my letter to you and your entire body of Synod Executives and Synod of the PCC as an appeal to be mindful of these concerns because enough is enough, Rev Fonki Samuel. We cannot be anymore silent and allow you to continue scamming and exploiting Presbyterians.

Whereas “Moderator” the English Dictionary definition states that he or she a mediator and of course “in the Presbyterian church, the officer who presides over a synod or general assembly”

Whereas as Pastor you are expected to serve and tender “God’s people ” consistent with the calling and mission to reflect the mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation and compassion of Jesus Christ

Whereas the church once “reformed is always reforming”

Whereas no Moderator or any other Synod Executives own the PCC except to be guardians and custodians under appropriate biblical standards in the light of John 15, the Constitution, Book of Order and Confession, and in accordance with governing laws of the State

Whereas your prophetic role in the State can only be effective if you are free from the ills of corruption, fraud, embezzlement and in all dictatorship perpetrated by the state

Whereas you are “First amongst Equals, which does not make you above reproach and accountability or any lesser or greater than your fellow Presbyterians

Whereas the PCC is a church of Presbyters and not a church of individuals loyal to Rev Fonki Samuel,

Whereas it is imperative that the global evangelical and missionary focus of Presbyterianism does NOT discriminate on people based on race and culture with respect to the liturgical application of worship geographically and culturally

Whereas the modus operandi of mission is to foster partnership, diversity and inclusion when spreading the gospel

Whereas Christian discipleship and Financial stewardship go hand – in – hand, I will like to call upon you and your entire leadership at the Synod Office levels of the PCC to account for the following;

1. You, the Rev Fonki Samuel and all Synod Officers serving in high ranking positions shall declare your assets including your bank accounts and investments in Cameroon and abroad including businesses where you are shareholders

2. The Rev Fonki Samuel and the Financial Department shall publish the Financial statements of the PCC including sources of income grants, donations, church contribution etc and expenditures on Salaries of Church workers, projects and charity

3. The Rev Fonki Samuel shall give a detail account of his standing with the PCC USA 🇺🇸 with respect to accusations published against him. Mindful of the non- profit tax exemption of the PCC-USA,  I reserve the absolute right to file a complaint to USA authorities against the lack of financial transparency and accountability during the reign of you, the  Rev Fonki Samuel from 2014 – 2022 marked by a culture of theft of church funds to enrich yourselves.

4. The Rev Fonki Samuel shall explain the reasons behind his suspicious tampering of the Constitution of the PCC . Perhaps by your own tyrannical actions the PCC does not need to be taken back into the dark ages of corrupt tyranny

We will not lie low to watch you and your gang ruin the church our forefathers and parents have built with faith, sacrifice, humility, grace, mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation and love. These sacred Christians values embodied by Jesus Christ are not part of the vocabulary of PCC leadership.

You may boast of your flamboyant unholy alliance with corrupt politicians in Cameroon to oppress and exploit God’s people to enrich yourselves.  That practice ends effective immediately. 

Rev Fonki Samuel if your sole purpose is to change the Constitution of the PCC in order to appoint your wifethe Moderator in the same manner you were appointed, so be it but should that not behappening in your own private church in Akwaya or somewhere else.? So long as this is the PCC you shall not oppress and exploit God’s people for so long. It ends effective immediately as appropriate steps are underway to ensure that someone more powerful than you and your regime will end your evil and wickedness against God’s people in Cameroon

Every project you have carried out in the name of PCC is only done so as a calculated means to embezzle most of the money. Why do you close primary schools, unable to pay the salaries of teachers, some who taught you in primary school, yet you are able to increase your salaries in the Synod Office without taking into consideration the plight of others?

That explains why you are now living at large while thousands of children are living in abject poverty around the country due to violent conflict and warfare. It is better for you to resign now from that office   in keeping with the laws that govern your activities here in the USA. Rev Fonki Samuel I cannot imagine that you are so inconsiderate to the pain and suffering of children and families to the point where you shut down primary school in the 21st century. You increased your salary from Moderator to CEO. Let me ask you a simple question? Are you the one who owns the PCC? If you are the CEO of PCC then be prepared to come to court in the USA because you will have to account to this country.   If you insist I will file a complaint against you and against all PCC churches in the USA. Your conduct is despicable and unacceptable.

Finally,  it is important that the Presbyterian Church In Cameroon and PCC-USA be brought to her traditional and historical context as the basis for the present day mission and evangelism by upholding the sacredness of Presbyterian beliefs in the light of   Holy Scriptures.  This is well articulated by this statement and since you are not complying with this Presbyterian belief, please , leave  the PCC .

“Some of the principles articulated by John Calvin are still at the core of Presbyterian beliefs. Among these are the sovereignty of God, the authority of Scripture, justification by grace through faith and the priesthood of all believers. What these tenets mean is that God is the supreme authority throughout the universe. Our knowledge of God and God’s purpose for humanity comes from the Bible, particularly what is revealed in the New Testament through the life of Jesus Christ. Our salvation (justification) through Jesus is God’s generous gift to us and not the result of our own accomplishments. It is everyone’s job — ministers and lay people alike — to share this Good News with the whole world. That is also why the Presbyterian church is governed at all levels by a combination of clergy and laity, men and women alike.”

Theology

Thank you for your cooperation and thoughtfulness to these issues.

Yours truly in Jesus Christ,

Bother Jonathan Fru Awasom

Jonathan_light2000@yahoo.com

Phone: 201-878-5829

CC All Pastors, Elders, Deacons and Christians of the PCC

       PC (USA)

       United States Authoritiesin Cameroon and USA

       Cameroon Authorities in the United States

       All persons of interest in the PCC

The Holy Father Pope Francis arrives in Canada to apologise for Indigenous school abuse

24, July 2022

The Holy Father Pope Francis arrives in Canada to apologise for Indigenous school abuse 0

Pope Francis arrived Sunday in Canada, where he is expected to personally apologize to Indigenous survivors of abuse committed over a span of decades at residential schools run by the Catholic Church.

The head of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics landed at Edmonton’s international airport shortly after 11 am (1700 GMT).

He was welcomed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mary Simon, the country’s first Indigenous governor general, as well as Indigenous leaders in an airport ceremony that began with drums and chanting.

Afterwards Francis received welcome gifts from Indigenous leaders, shaking or kissing their hands and making conversation with each before the short ceremony ended.

During the 10-hour flight from Rome Francis told journalists travelling with him that “we must be aware that this is a penitential journey.”

The 85-year-old pontiff’s Canada visit is primarily to apologize to survivors for the Church’s role in the scandal that a national truth and reconciliation commission has called “cultural genocide”.

From the late 1800s to the 1990s, Canada’s government sent about 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children into 139 residential schools run by the Church, where they were cut off from their families, language and culture.

Many were physically and sexually abused by headmasters and teachers.

Thousands of children are believed to have died of disease, malnutrition or neglect.

Since May 2021, more than 1,300 unmarked graves have been discovered at the sites of the former schools.

A delegation of Indigenous peoples travelled to the Vatican in April and met the pope — a precursor to Francis’ six-day trip — after which he formally apologized.

But doing so again on Canadian soil will be of huge significance for survivors and their families, for whom the land of their ancestors is of particular importance.

The flight constituted the longest since 2019 for the pope, who has been suffering from knee pain that has forced him to use a cane or wheelchair in recent outings.

The pope was in a wheelchair Sunday and used a lifting platform to board the plane in Rome, and was also in a wheelchair on the tarmac in Edmonton, an AFP correspondent accompanying him said.

‘Too late’

 After resting Sunday, the pope will travel Monday to the community of Maskwacis, some 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Edmonton, and address an estimated crowd of 15,000 expected to include former students from across the country.

“I would like a lot of people to come,” said Charlotte Roan, 44, interviewed by AFP in June. The member of the Ermineskin Cree Nation said she wanted people to come “to hear that it wasn’t made up”.

Others see the pope’s visit as too little too late, including Linda McGilvery with the Saddle Lake Cree Nation near Saint Paul, about 200 kilometres east of Edmonton. 

“I wouldn’t go out of my way to see him,” said the 68-year-old.

“For me it’s kind of too late, because a lot of the people suffered, and the priests and the nuns have now passed on.”

McGilvery spent eight years of her childhood in one of the schools, from age six to 13.

“Being in the residential school I lost a lot of my culture, my ancestry. That’s many years of loss,” she told AFP.

After a mass before tens of thousands of faithful in Edmonton on Tuesday, Francis will head northwest to an important pilgrimage site, the Lac Sainte Anne.

Following a July 27-29 visit to Quebec City, he will end his trip in Iqaluit, capital of the northern territory of Nunavut and home to the largest Inuit population in Canada.

There he will meet with former residential school students, before returning to Italy.

In total, Francis is expected to deliver four speeches and four homilies, all in Spanish.

Francis is the second pope to visit Canada, after John Paul II, who visited three times (1984, 1987 and 2002).

Source: AFP

PCC Cameroon under Rev Fonki: Corruption runs rampant. Who should we hold responsible?

23, July 2022

PCC Cameroon under Rev Fonki: Corruption runs rampant. Who should we hold responsible? 0

In The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer wrote, “the world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God, and the Church is famishing for want of His Presence.” It is a demonstrable fact that the lack of knowledge and Presence of God has characterized the leadership of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) since 2014. And this tragedy does not look like ending soon.

The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon has an archaic law that the position of Moderator rotates between the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon. The genesis of this rule is politics, not spiritual, and this law is illogical and ridiculous. The current Moderator and leader of the Church, Rev Fonki Samuel Forba, despite his name, says he is from Akwaya and presented himself when he campaigned for the role of Moderator of the PCC as a candidate from the Southwest region.

It is pointless to state the obvious now, but Rev Fonki was never a treasured leader when he became Moderator of the PCC. He won the Moderatorship because Rev Abwenzoh W. Membong and Rev Besong Johnson Tabe could not sort themselves out before the election. Also, many in the Church, particularly those from the Southwest caucus, didn’t consider the boring details of scrutinizing the candidates before the election in 2014.

Cameroon Concord News Group has been informed that since his rise to the top, Rev Fonki excises power without responsibility. He commands almost complete loyalty by cramming the top positions in the PCC with unintelligent and spiritually vacuous nobodies. The Synod of the PCC and a majority of the pastors heading presbyteries throughout the national territory are all active and willing arm of the Fonkian enterprise. Most pastors in strategic positions and large congregations in the PCC have been put there by Rev Fonki Samuel Forba as privatized propagandists, apologists, bullies, and infiltrators. These co-criminals see Fonki as one of their own and love him dearly. With undiluted assurance and protection from his subjects, he is free to wreck the PCC, and he is doing so astoundingly.

Rev Fonki has a dark and devilish mindset with CPDM propensities and tends to transfer adversaries or intellectual and spiritual superiors to inaccessible territories. Cameroon Concord News Group can reveal that Rev Besong Johnson Tabe, who was once the Secretary of the Committee of the Ministry, is now languishing in Barombi Kang, a pocket-sized rural community on the fringes of Kumba. Rev Mokoko Mbue, a former Communications Secretary and one of the rising stars of the PCC communion is now in exile precisely in a congregation in Bafousam.

Church outsiders have sometimes questioned the management skills of many a past Moderator. But for the first time, PCC congregants are now openly questioning their Moderator’s spirituality and suitability for office. A member of PC Mamfe Town said, “It is beyond obvious that he has no spiritual bone in his body. We have to pray that 2024 comes soon for him to leave our Church”.

Recent events in PC Kumba Town where the congregants and Chairwoman pushed for the disgraced Pastor Mary Wose to leave their congregation have attracted commentaries and under-the-table talk from around the globe. Still, loud silence is the only response from the Moderator. Why? The Moderator’s take on the matter betrays his determination to force Mary Wose upon the Church in PC Kumba Town. The issue in Kumba is so scandalous that practicing witchcraft professionals have now been consulted by both sides to bring the matter to a speedy close.

Cameroon Concord News Group believes that the PC Kumba Town saga is the most shameful calamity ever to engulf the PCC. Close members of the Moderator’s team told this publication that he is nursing soreness in his leg and other ailments, which is why he has not issued a public statement on the PC Kumba Town saga. We wish him well and look forward to his public statement on the matter as his health improves.

The ways of the Lord are simplicity, honesty and charity, but that is not what Rev Fonki stands for. With several buildings and business projects in Buea, Limbe, Bamenda and many other towns in Cameroon, he has made the amassment of obscene wealth one of his primary goals.

Under Rev Fonki, PCC congregants must now pay 10% of their incomes as tithes. This questionable scheme has been introduced by concocting a section of congregants’ communion cards to show these payments. Cameroon has a high unemployment rate, and salaries and wages are forever infrequent. Presbyterian secondary and primary school teachers have been going without wages for months and sometimes years. If the PCC can’t pay its teachers despite raking in hundreds of millions from grants, gifts, school fees and aid from abroad, how should these people pay the tithes intended to fuel the flashy and ungodly lifestyle of their Moderator?

Rev Fonki is now a celebrity pastor. On his journeys, there is a convoy with his flamboyant motor vehicle. The poor boy from Akwaya/Menchum is now living the dream. The child who only learned about three square meals daily as an academic concept is now a superstar pastor. Lucky boy! But he must know that he is not living according to the word of the Lord, and the Almighty has distinctive ways of punishing spiritual misconduct. Rev Fonki should draw a lesson from the late Bishop Pius Suh Awah, who ended up on a wheelchair because of his spiritual crimes against Father Kumbha Etienne.

Last year, Rev Fonki started putting together a dubious succession plan by choosing his wife, Rev Perpetua Fonki, as the Communications Secretary of the PCC. A member of PC Bafut said, “Mrs. Pepetua Fonki is the one who runs the PCC now, and she is the mastermind of their numerous financial ventures; whatever she tells Samuel Forba to do, he does. She wants to succeed him as Moderator, and because she is from the Northwest, you will see she will win the position at the next election”.

Rev Fonki Samuel is doing what no other Moderator ever succeeded in; building a deep rift between the Southwest and Northwest factions within the PCC. Thanks to him, there is now an active and robust conversation about breaking the PCC into Northwest and Southwest factions. Although Rev Fonki blames the devil, Manyu and the Bakossi people for his troubles, a source close to him has informed Cameroon Concord News Group that the Northwest faction of the Church will rigorously challenge his fantasy succession plan.

In 2019, the people of Ukraine voted for a comedian and ended up with a serious leader. In 2014, the PCC voted for a Moderator and spiritual leader, and they have had to endure a spiritually vacuous, morally bankrupt, and dangerous comedian. He should summon some humility and leave the PCC now.

By Isong Asu

Cameroon Concord News Group Senior Political Researcher

In the next piece in this series, Cameroon Concord News Group explores the Bible’s teachings on the amassment of vulgar wealth by the Church leaders.

PCC-Rev Fonki Affair: If it’s true, Moderator should go and go now

8, July 2022

PCC-Rev Fonki Affair: If it’s true, Moderator should go and go now 0

In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 31 vs 29, Moses, the servant of the Lord, said, “I know that after my death, you will become utterly corrupt and will turn from the way I have commanded you to follow. In the days to come, disaster will come down on you, for you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, making him very angry with your actions.” And it has come to pass that the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) is living up to this prophecy.

Recent embarrassing protests by its congregants at the churches in Kumba Town and Nsimeyong, Yaoundé, prompted Cameroon Concord News Group to investigate the PCC’s activities. Over the last few weeks, we interviewed clerics, congregants and members of various committees in churches across the PCC communion.

Our detailed inquiry found that the Moderator (spiritual leader of the PCC), Rt Rev Forki Samuel Forba, is responsible for the PCC’s current chaos. We found a damning indictment of Rev Fonki’s character and leadership style. It is hard to find a reputable man or woman in the PCC who holds their Moderator with regard. We uncovered that his name conjures up worry and disgust, not adoration and holiness.

To begin, Rev Fonki Samuel Forba was an irrational choice as the PCC Moderator. During his campaign to lead the church and subsequent re-election in 2019, he ran a crusade of bribery, corruption and intimidation. Upon re-election, he organized parties where he celebrated lavishly with CPDM tendencies and danced like a seasoned Congolese band member.

Many who knew him after he was ordained as the PCC Moderator almost eight years ago muttered that he was a disaster waiting to happen, and he has confirmed those fears. A church member in Ekona opined that “I have known him for over 30 years, and many who have worked with him knew from the moment he was elected as the PCC moderator that his tenure would be a disaster, and we can all see it”. Many within the PCC say Rev Fonki is pompous, spiritually empty, possesses no integrity and doesn’t command the respect of the majority in the PCC he claims to lead.

Cameroon Concord News Group now understands that the shocking protests captured on video in PC Kumba Town are a consequence of Rev Fonki’s dubious direct actions. The pastor of PC Kumba Town is a certain Rev Mary Wose Nduma, who is notorious for being devoid of honesty and transcendence. PC Kumba Town congregants confided to this publication that the Chairwoman of their church had repeatedly impeded Rev Mary Wose’s attempts to loot church funds. This had led to both being on each others’ throats for months until things boiled over some weeks ago when church members carried out a mass demonstration calling for Rev Mary Wose to leave their church.

Speaking about Rev Mary Wose, one of her congregants said, “Everyone here knows that she has a less than holy relationship with the Moderator. It is shameful that they are involved in shady financial dealings. The Moderator brought her here because we are a big church, so she can abuse our funds, but that will not work. She has to go now.”

The situation in PC Kumba Town is now thorny. Members of this Church want Pastor Mary Wose gone, but she and her Moderator are not heeding the people’s requests and anger. Last week, the church members led a protest during a live sermon by Pastor Mary Wose. A pastor with godliness, ability and stature might have shrugged the protest off, but Rev Mary Wose is not that pastor. Her stubbornness and sense of entitlement have led her to this place of shame. She believes that her personal but unholy relationship with the Moderator will ultimately triumph, but she is about to discover that PC Kumba Town members mean business.

The incidents in Kumba Town seem to be playing out in PC Nsimeyong, Yaoundé also, where Rev Fonki has appointed a fellow sinful offender, Rev Emmanuel Masok. Rev Masok’s congregants say he is vulgar, violent, and a channel for fraudulent and unholy activities. Rev Masok’s case is a holy emergency that must be dealt with without delay as his congregants have prayed and fasted with no noticeable results. A member of PC Nsimeyong noted that “Rev Masok is an embarrassment. To say Masok is a pastor is an insult to that noble profession, and he is a shameless crook and womaniser.”

Talking to many within the PCC, the game is simple. Rev Fonki Samuel Forba appoints key allies to big churches, so he gets financial kickbacks from them. This is shameful and distasteful. Rev Fonki is a man ruled by the quest for primitive material consumption, and he owns many properties acquired from his proceeds of theft of Church funds. For a man of God, this is dishonorable, sinful and criminal.

Rev Fonki has appointed countless mediocrities to many top positions in the church. His appointees, like him, have no fear of God in them and thrive on deception and theft of Church money. The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon is now at the mercy of Rev Fonki’s reckless quest for indulgence.

The many mediocrities that Rev Fonki has airlifted to senior positions in the Presbyterian Synod and several presbyteries are not there for their creative talents and godly powers but for their talent to aid and abet his criminal and satanic endeavours. These co-criminals will not tell him to go or persuade him to discontinue his disgraceful proclivities because they only have their positions for as long as he hangs on to his.

The primary reason his continued stay in office as Moderator is because of corrupt, lazy and intellectually questionable PCC Synod. Rev Fonki has installed his close lieutenants in the Synod; they are nothing more than hand clappers and are too cowardly to move against a disgraced and outrageous Moderator.

Time is the most precious commodity if the Presbyterian Church is to survive in its current format and structure. Members of the Presbyterian Communion can mobilize supporters, sympathizers and genuine Christians that may end Rev Fonki’s reign of terror, theft, and criminality. But they need to be bold.

Everyday Rev Fonki remains in power; a long, sharp, sturdy nail is driven into the coffin of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon. He has presided over eight turbulent years, during which the number of active Christians in the PCC is declining alarmingly. And this doesn’t seem to bother him.

PCC members must know that Rev Fonki has no interest in spirituality, honesty and the growth of their church, and he is only interested in growing his wealth and that of his friends within the church. And protests should be a new norm in all churches to force him and his co-criminals out of their church.

By Isong Asu

Cameroon Concord News Group Senior Political Researcher

In part 2 of this series, Cameroon Concord will look at Rev Fonki’s choice of PCC Communication Secretary and his plans to ensure his legacy of harm and criminality continues after he leaves office in 2024.

Pilgrims arrive in Mecca for largest hajj

6, July 2022

Pilgrims arrive in Mecca for largest hajj 0

The biggest hajj pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic began kicks off Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of mostly maskless worshippers expected to circle Islam’s holiest site in Saudi Arabia’s Mecca.

One million fully vaccinated Muslims, including 850,000 from abroad, are allowed at this year’s hajj, a major break from two years of drastically curtailed numbers due to the pandemic.

At Mecca’s Grand Mosque, pilgrims will perform the “tawaf”, the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the large cubic structure draped in golden-embroidered black cloth that Muslims around the world turn towards to pray.

Many have chosen to perform the ritual ahead of Wednesday’s official hajj start date.

On Tuesday afternoon, white-robed male worshippers and women in colourful abayas walked side by side on the white floors near the Kaaba, the majority without a mask even though authorities said last month that masks would be mandatory at the site.

“I just prayed for you,” one pilgrim, wearing a green robe, said during a video call with relatives.

“I love you mother, I love you all,” she added, waving into her mobile phone screen as she continued walking around the Kaaba.

Five days of rituals

This year’s hajj is larger than the pared-down versions staged in 2020 and 2021 but still smaller than in normal times.

In 2019, some 2.5 million Muslims from around the world participated in the annual event—a key pillar of Islam that able-bodied Muslims must undertake at least once in their lives.

But after that, the coronavirus outbreak forced a dramatic downsizing. Just 60,000 fully vaccinated citizens and residents of the kingdom took part in 2021, up from a few thousand in 2020.

The pilgrimage consists of a series of religious rites which are completed over five days in Islam’s holiest city and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia.

On Thursday, the pilgrims will move to Mina, around five kilometres (three miles) away from the Grand Mosque, ahead of the main rite at Mount Arafat, where it is believed the Prophet Mohammed delivered his final sermon.

This year’s hajj is restricted to vaccinated Muslims under the age of 65 chosen from millions of applicants through an online lottery system.

Those coming from outside Saudi Arabia were required to submit a negative Covid-19 PCR result from a test taken within 72 hours of travel.

Since the start of the pandemic, Saudi Arabia has registered more than 795,000 coronavirus cases, more than 9,000 of them fatal.

‘Too hot’

Those attempting to perform the hajj without a permit face fines of 10,000 Saudi riyals (around $2,600).

Policemen in the mountainous city have set up checkpoints and conducted foot patrols while holding green umbrellas to shield themselves from the scorching sun.

Temperatures in Mecca topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.

Inside the Grand Mosque, female medics were on standby in different locations, and volunteers with wheelchairs were waiting in a long queue to help those needing assistance.

Authorities have set up multiple health facilities, mobile clinics and ambulances to cater to pilgrims.

Some pilgrims donned clothing featuring the names and flags of their countries. “Hajj 2020 — Chad” was written on the back of the white robes of one group.

Hosting the hajj is a matter of prestige and a powerful source of political legitimacy for Saudi Arabia’s rulers.

Costing at least $5,000 per person, it is also a money-spinner for the world’s biggest oil exporter, which is trying to diversify its economy.

In normal years, the pilgrimage brings in billions of dollars.

These days it represents a chance to showcase the kingdom’s ongoing social transformation, despite persistent complaints about human rights abuses and limits on personal freedoms.

Saudi Arabia now allows women to attend the hajj unaccompanied by male relatives, a requirement that was dropped last year.

“Being here is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can’t wait for the rest,” said 42-year-old Egyptian pilgrim Naima Mohsen, who came to the Grand Mosque by herself Tuesday.

“My only problem is the weather. It’s just too hot.”

Source: AFP

Moderator Samuel Fonki should be arrested and charged with crimes against humanity

28, June 2022

Moderator Samuel Fonki should be arrested and charged with crimes against humanity 0

Fonki Samuel, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, should be tried by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

The Francophone dominated Biya regime in Yaoundé and other Southern Cameroons stake holders should charge Moderator Fonki Samuel with crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.  The Ambazonia Interim Government, after charges are filed, could arrange for the arrest of Moderator Fonki by Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces.

The Ambazonia Interim Government should not take the law into its own hands and unilaterally arrest Moderator Fonki Samuel.  The IG should support the rule of law in Southern Cameroons and see to it that Rev Fonki is charged, arrested and convicted of crimes against humanity for putting the Messaga Ekol and Oliti people of Akwaya Subdivision, Manyu Division at each other’s throat.

Moderator Fonki Samuel comes from a migrant community that moved from the North West and settled in Akwaya Sub Division in Manyu. Two generations successfully amalgamated into what we know today as the Messaga Ekol clan deep within the ancestral home of the Oliti people. The quest for rich farm lands has always placed the Messaga Ekol and the Oliti communities at daggers-drawn positions.

Events recently took a dramatic u-turn following the emergence of a migrant son as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon-and the Messaga Ekol people now have a voice and a powerful religious figure who can make their case heard in Yaoundé and even beyond. His recent press release on the massacre in Akwaya tells it all!!

Moderator Fonki personally signed the communiqué detailing what happened in Akwaya without the consent of the Divisional Officer and the Roman Catholic establishment that virtually controls the majority of the Christian family population in Akwaya Sub Division. It is evidently clear from the press release that Moderator Fonki Samuel Forba (to use his three names) is a stake holder in the land dispute in Akwaya. In the moderator’s own account, “Over 30 people were killed including children, girls, men, women and old people. Some were beheaded. About 5 Nigerians were killed in this attack”.

The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.  The Court is located in Den Hague, Netherlands; The Office of the Prosecutor is responsible for conducting investigations and prosecutions. It is headed by the Chief Prosecutor.

According to Human Rights Watch,  “the ICC has one of the most extensive lists of due process guarantees ever written,” including “presumption of innocence; right to counsel ; right to present evidence and to confront witnesses; right to remain silent ; right to be present at trial; right to have charges proved beyond a reasonable doubt; and protection against double jeopardy.”

If Rev Fonki is arrested, there will be no vacuum in the Presbyterian Church.  It will instead present an opportunity to have a decent cleric to run the affairs of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Archbishop Nkea says the Church is in service of peace and reconciliation

27, June 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Archbishop Nkea says the Church is in service of peace and reconciliation 0

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

Cardinal Sean O’Malley appoints Priest of Mamfe Diocese as Parish Priest of Ste. Anne’s Church in Boston

26, June 2022

Cardinal Sean O’Malley appoints Priest of Mamfe Diocese as Parish Priest of Ste. Anne’s Church in Boston 0

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

‘Evil and wicked’: More than 50 feared dead in Nigeria church attack

6, June 2022

‘Evil and wicked’: More than 50 feared dead in Nigeria church attack 0

Gunmen with explosives stormed a Catholic church and opened fire in southwest Nigeria on Sunday, killing “many” worshippers and wounding others, the government and police said.

The violence at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo town in Ondo State erupted during the morning service in a rare attack in the southwest of Nigeria, where jihadists and criminal gangs operate in other regions.

Pope Francis said in a statement he had learned of the “death of dozens of faithful”, many children, during the celebration of the Christian holiday of the Pentecost.

“While the details of the incident are being clarified, Pope Francis prays for the victims and for the country,” he said.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The motives and the exact death toll were not immediately clear, but President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the “heinous killing of worshippers”.

State police spokeswoman Ibukun Odunlami said the gunmen also attacked the church with explosives, leaving an unknown number of worshippers dead.

“It’s still premature to say exactly how many people were killed. But many worshippers lost their lives while others were injured in the attack,” she told AFP.

A spokesman for the Ondo State governor’s office said they would not be giving an official casualty figure for the moment.

But a witness, who gave his name as Abayomi, told AFP at least 20 worshippers had died in the attack.

“I was passing through the area when I heard a loud explosion and gunshots inside the church,” he said.

He said he saw at least five gunmen on the church premises before he ran for safety.

‘Vile and satanic attack’

Attacks on religious sites are particularly sensitive in Nigeria where tensions sometimes flare between communities in a country with a mostly Christian south and a predominantly Muslim north.

Gun and bomb attacks are rare in Ondo state, but Nigeria’s military is battling a 12-year-old jihadist insurgency in the northeast, gangs in the northwest and separatist agitation in the southeast.

Boko Haram jihadist group in the northeast targeted churches in the past as part of Nigeria’s conflict that has killed 40,000 and displaced 2 million more.

Kidnapping assaults are common in most parts of Nigeria but mass gun attacks like Sunday’s violence are rare in the country’s relatively peaceful southwest.

Ondo state governor Rotimi Akeredolu said Sunday’s attack was a “vile and satanic attack” and appealed to the security forces to track down the assailants.

The attack comes a day before the ruling APC party starts primaries for its candidate in the 2023 election to replace Buhari, a former army commander who steps down after two terms in office.

Security will be a major challenge for whoever wins the race to govern Africa’s most populous country and the continent’s largest economy.

Parts of northwest and north-central Nigeria in particular have been increasingly plagued by heavily armed gangs who raid villages and target communities and schools for mass kidnapping attacks.

Source: AFP

Yaoundé: Archbishop Nkea officially takes over as President of the National Episcopal Conference

27, May 2022

Yaoundé: Archbishop Nkea officially takes over as President of the National Episcopal Conference 0

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.

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