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

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

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

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

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

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

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Catholic Church is indeed a living Church and as a living Church, it is always on the move, always going out and never withdrawn into itself.

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

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

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

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

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

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

To this I put my name

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

An encomium to Reverend Father Maurice Agbaw-Ebai

An encomium to Reverend Father Maurice Agbaw-Ebai

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

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

1. Introduction

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3.      Passed with Distinction, master’s in philosophy

4.      Teaching and Research Interests Systematic Theology Philosophy of Religion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2.      On the Reasonableness of Faith in Creation;

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

4.      Catholicism as a Beautiful Experience;

5.      Catholicism: An Advent and Easter Experience;

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

7.      The Church and the Clown;

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

9.      Catholicism & Public Culture;

10.  Catholicism and Irrational Public Power;

11.  Catholicism and the Grammar of Tolerance;

12.  Vatican Council II: An Ecclesial Mea Culpa?

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

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

15.  Catholicism and the Political Order;

16.  The Confessing Church & the Two Popes;

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

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

19.  Mary of Nazareth and the Question of God;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

27.  The Joy of the Gospel of Pope Francis;

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

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

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

31.  Why I Still Believe in the Sinful Church;

32.  Baptism Says It All;

33.  The Goal of Ordinary Time;

34.  Remembering Benedict XVI Three Years Ago;

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

36.  Amoris Laetitia, A Missed Evangelical Opportunity?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“John Tanyi Lebui: Tell us about this today?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

John Tanyi Lebui: Any last word?

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

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

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

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

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

+Andrew NKEA, Bishop of Mamfe.”

14. Conclusion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Yerima thanks President Biden for US Temporal Status

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Yerima thanks President Biden for US Temporal Status

US Temporal Protection Status: A message of thank you to President Biden

Fellow Ambazonians,

In December 2017, President Paul Biya of La Republique du Cameroun declared war on the people of Southern Cameroons. Because of this war, his invading and raiding forces have created a humanitarian crisis in our nation. Today the Interim Government of Ambazonia wants to record its gratitude to the US Department of Homeland Security for granting Temporal Protection Status to Ambazonians seeking refuge in the United States of America.

Today is a great day for justice, but we must remain grounded as a people. The Interim Government of Ambazonia is calling on other governments worldwide to follow this decisive ruling by the US government by granting protection to Ambazonians within their territories.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia wants to extend the gratitude of the Ambazonian people to; Comrades Efi Tembong and Silvie Bello.

I want to put on record that APOCSNET, American Council, TAWPAC, One Voice Africa, Cameroon TPS Coalition, Grass Root Law Project, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch have been immense in leading this campaign.

To all Southern Cameroons individuals, leaders and groups who worked tirelessly to achieve this great victory, I salute your vigour for our people.

Our goal must remain freedom and justice, and together, we shall overcome.

God bless the Federal Republic of Ambazonian.

Sign:

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Ambazonia Interim Government

Southern Cameroons Crisis: The government must implement real appeasement measures

Southern Cameroons Crisis: The government must implement real appeasement measures

The crisis in Southern Cameroons seems to be cooling off but beyond the surface, there are lots of things still happening and another explosion of tensions is a possibility.

The consequences of the conflict are all over the place. The trust that used to be the population’s hallmark has simply evaporated given the atrocities that have taken place in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

Many children in rural parts of Southern Cameroons are still not going to school and this is creating a serious problem that will haunt the country in the future.

The crisis which started with protests by teachers and lawyers in 2016, has robbed the two English-speaking regions of the country of much-needed economic development, as many investors have simply fled the region with their investments.

Many Southern Cameroonians are now investing in East Cameroon as the war has proven that instability is not friendly with economic prosperity. Where violence exists, economic prosperity simply walks away, leaving the population in abject poverty.

The relocation of businesses has worsened the unemployment situation in the two English-speaking regions of the country and unemployment has a way of generating hardship and producing hardened criminals.

Though government soldiers and separatists fighters still sometimes engage in excesses, the killing has reduced, and movement from one major town to the other is gradually improving.

 Live is gradually returning to towns such as Kumba, Buea, Bamenda, Tiko and Limbe, but this does not imply that the issues which triggered the crisis have been addressed by the government.

The Yaoundé government has the nasty habit of leaving things to time but time might never address the grievances of Southern Cameroonians who hold that they have been victims of marginalization and other forms of injustice.

If the violence that has hit the two regions like a ton of bricks must remain a thing of the past, the Yaoundé government must take certain appeasement measures which should help to prevent future conflicts.

One of such measures must be the institution of constant, frank and fruitful dialogue which will help the government and the local communities to address issues in a timely manner so as to preempt any future misunderstanding.

In this regard, a standing committee should be set up to monitor things to ensure that any issues that might disrupt the peace are nipped in the bud.

Similarly, corruption and centralization which are also to blame for much of the chaos that has played out in the country’s two English-speaking regions must be dealt with in a determined and persistent manner.

Corruption is a major issue in Cameroon and this cancer is hurting many Cameroonians. While most Cameroonians are complaining and collapsing under the weight of corruption, a few well-placed officials loyal to the ruling party have transformed the country’s treasury into their personal ATM or piggy bank.

Corruption is very expensive and if not checked, could result in a country’s economic failure or political collapse. Corruption aggravates a people economic pain and could build a lot of pressure in the country; pressure which might result in political conflict, especially in a political context wherein one person makes all the decisions and holds onto power even when things are falling apart.

Also, centralization, which has been the bane of the population’s existence for decades, needs to be carefully examined.

Currents efforts by the government at implementing a failed decentralization plan have only generated more frustration, especially as government efforts are being viewed by the population as the government’s attempt to perpetuate the ruling party’s agenda and existence in power.

Decentralization as defined by the current government will not douse the fire in many Southern Cameroonian minds.

Anything short of a full-fledged federal system will only go a long way in perpetuating the frustration and sowing the dangerous seeds of another devastating conflict in the country.

Key to all of these measures will be the release of all Southern Cameroonians arrested because of the conflict, including Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe who is clearly the leader of Southern Cameroons.

His release and that of his entourage will send out a strong message that the government is committed to bringing sustainable peace to the region and this might convince the fighters in the bushes to down their weapons.

The Southern Cameroons crisis has sent many Cameroonians to an early grave. The events of the last five years have proven that Cameroon’s peace is fragile and could be breached at any time.

If the Cameroon government has to reduce the country’s fragility, it must take bold new measures which will help to address old grievances and put the country on the path to sustainable peace and prosperity.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai and Joachim Arrey

A Cry for Ambazonians: How the United States Failed Southern Cameroons Refugees

A Cry for Ambazonians: How the United States Failed Southern Cameroons Refugees

As U.S. officials face continued criticism for the mistreatment and mass expulsions of Haitians who arrived at the U.S. southern border, with many given no chance to apply for asylum, the situation of another group of Black asylum seekers is now also in the spotlight. Dozens of Cameroonians who were denied asylum in the United States—many after especially problematic immigration court hearings—have experienced torture, persecution, and other harms following deportation to their central African country.

Cameroonians have been fleeing deadly violence by both government forces and armed separatist groups in the country’s two Anglophone regions since late 2016. Many of those deported by the United States between 2019 and 2021 have had credible persecution claims related to this crisis, which were rejected in often-unfair proceedings.

This represents a serious failure of the U.S. asylum system to protect those in dire need.

Among those rejected for asylum is a man who initially fled Cameroon in 2018 after authorities accused him of supporting the separatists—armed groups seeking independence for Cameroon’s Anglophone regions—and tortured him in detention for a week. An immigration judge in Louisiana denied the man asylum, calling his experience a “brief, isolated one-time incident that does not rise to the level of extreme conduct.” The man, who is not being named for his protection, was deported from the United States in October 2020 along with fifty-six other Cameroonians. Three months later, he was severely beaten in his home by Cameroonian soldiers.

This man’s experience in the U.S. immigration court system, as well as his return to harm, is not an isolated case. During a year-long Human Rights Watch investigation, I spoke to forty-one Cameroonians asylum seekers who were deported by U.S. authorities between 2019 and 2021, as well as their relatives, immigration lawyers, witnesses, and others. I also tracked down and analyzed their U.S. asylum documents and collected evidence from Cameroon.

What I found is damning. I documented problematic asylum case adjudications, mistreatment during U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, an abusive deportation process, and the post-deportation harm many experienced in Cameroon, including arbitrary detention, torture, and rape. Cameroonian authorities harmed or detained at least forty people deported by the United States, twenty of whom I interviewed; dozens of others faced abuses such as extortion, threats, and confiscation of identification documents.

While in the United States, many of these asylum seekers had no lawyers, as they are not entitled to one under the U.S. system. Nevertheless, they faced lawyers representing the government in adversarial hearings. Many struggled to acquire evidence to support their cases while held in prolonged ICE detention. Many Cameroonian Pidgin English speakers also faced language barriers, as some asylum officers and immigration judges failed to adequately assess their need for an interpreter.

Multiple deportees and immigration lawyers described—and I corroborated from hearing transcripts—how U.S. immigration judges aggressively interrogated Cameroonians, intimidated them or spoke harshly, interrupted and would not let them explain or respond to alleged issues, and cherry-picked small inconsistencies or omissions to find their accounts “not credible.” In doing so, judges also disregarded the impacts of trauma on asylum seekers.

Though human rights conditions in Cameroon have not improved in recent years, the grant rate of asylum or other relief to Cameroonians by U.S. immigration courts dropped from 79 percent in fiscal year 2019 to 59 percent in 2020.

Despite protests by scores of activists, lawyers, and members of Congress, the Trump Administration deported an estimated eighty to ninety Cameroonians in two flights in October and November 2020, and at least one other flight in January 2021. Nearly everyone on those flights had sought and was denied asylum.

In eight U.S. asylum cases I reviewed, immigration judges said the past harm Cameroonians experienced did not rise to the level of persecution necessary to have an asylum claim approved. But many of those whom judges claimed “did not suffer enough harm” had been arbitrarily detained by Cameroonian authorities, some for lengthy periods, and beaten or tortured repeatedly, before fleeing to the United States.

The hearing transcript of one man shows that he testified that military personnel in Cameroon had detained him due to his membership in a political group supporting independence for the Anglophone regions, and that they had repeatedly beaten him with belts and kicked him, causing “injuries all over my leg” and “internal pains.” In his asylum application, he stated that he suffered “severe pains for about forty-five days” afterward. Yet the judge found the harm not “enough,” stating: “Respondent’s detention appears to be lengthy in duration, but Respondent was not subjected to severe beatings . . . .”

One judge, in four separate cases I examined, ruled that Cameroonians had not established past persecution due to insufficient harm, even though they testified to serious abuse or arbitrary, prolonged detention. One of the asylum seekers had testified to, as the judge summarized, beatings during arrest (“the police beat him with a hard . . . object in the head and leg . . . an unknown number of times . . . his right leg was broken”) and detention (beaten with a machete “on the soles of his feet”). Yet, “although the respondent suffered a broken leg, it does not appear he was otherwise seriously injured,” the judge concluded.

In another case, a man testified that he had been detained for ten weeks, beaten repeatedly, and “shocked with a cable” by Cameroonian authorities, who accused him of supporting the separatists. During his immigration court hearing, the U.S. government lawyer stated in apparent seriousness, “I don’t believe that the respondent’s two-month detention with only five beatings on the bottom of his feet . . . rises to the level of past persecution.” The judge agreed.

Our research highlights serious concerns with the apparent lack of impartiality of multiple immigration judges who decided Cameroonians’ cases. The majority of deported people I interviewed had judges with disproportionately high asylum denial rates, from 80 to 99 percent, compared to the national average of 66.7 percent during fiscal years 2015 to 2020.

The hearing transcript of one asylum seeker, who had no lawyer, reveals that the government lawyer and the judge both interrogated him so harshly that it bordered on cruelty. They repeated questions he had already answered, interrupted him, and repeatedly demanded approximations (such as the number of people in crowds) when he said he had not counted. When the government lawyer unfairly accused him of lying, the judge did not intervene. After he was deported in 2020, the man was detained by Cameroonian authorities in abusive conditions for two weeks. Upon provisional release, a military court official told the man he was still under investigation.

In a different case, a U.S. immigration judge declared a man’s asylum claim “abandoned” because his lawyer had mailed his application slightly late. After the man was deported in 2020, the Cameroonian military detained him for months, subjecting him to forced labor and violence.

In all, I documented thirteen cases of torture, physical or sexual violence, and assault committed by Cameroonian police, military, or other government personnel against people the United States deported. State agents raped three women and punched, kicked, and beat men and women with batons, belts, machetes, guns, and whips, according to survivors’ accounts.

“They said, ‘You left and thought we wouldn’t get you . . . you will die in this jail,’ ” said a man who was imprisoned for a month after his 2020 deportation. “They beat me . . . for fourteen days, every day . . . . They were making me feel that’s the end of my life.”

Cameroonian government forces have detained deported people in jails, prisons, military camps, and other facilities for periods ranging from days to months. They held most without due process or in extremely abusive conditions, with poor sanitation and little to no food or medical care.

The act of seeking asylum in the United States was itself the basis of a court summons for one deported man, who was charged with “having, in the United States, spread false news . . . by declaring to be a victim of abuses by the Cameroonian Government.”

By returning Cameroonians to persecution and other harm, the United States has violated the principle of non-refoulement under international refugee and human rights law. Many deportees remain in hiding in Cameroon or have fled again. “[It’s] like it just happened yesterday. I feel like I still have that trauma, like I’m still locked up,” said a man deported in 2020, whom I spoke with in January. “The trauma has been too much.”

The experiences of these Cameroonians underscore the need for reform of the U.S. immigration and asylum systems to eliminate barriers to asylum, due process violations, unnecessary immigration detention, and misconduct among U.S. immigration and asylum personnel.

Most urgently, the U.S. government should grant Cameroonian asylum seekers deported in 2020 and 2021 humanitarian parole to return to the United States for fair reassessments of their asylum claims.

Culled from Human Rights Watch

Southern Cameroons Crisis: What has the government learned?

Southern Cameroons Crisis: What has the government learned?

The Southern Cameroons crisis which started with protests by lawyers and teachers in the country’s two English-speaking regions has not only crippled the country financially. It has also created a strange strain of distrust towards the government and this distrust will have dire consequences for the government which has a huge burden of proving that it is capable of leading the country in an objective, serious and honest manner.

Southern Cameroonians in particular and Cameroonians in general do not trust the government because of its constant use of brutality as its weapon of choice for the resolution of issues which could be addressed around a negotiating table.

The government’s excessive use of brutality throughout the Southern Cameroons crisis has sent more than ten thousand Cameroonians to an early grave, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and thousands are now living with disabilities which will be reminders of the mistakes that were made because of a huge dependence on violence as a tool of choice for conflict resolution. 

Today, things are improving in the country’s two English-speaking regions, though small crooks and criminals are still on the prowl for possible victims. The two regions are awash with light weapons which made their way into the country through the border with Nigeria, and trigger-happy young men are using these weapons to harass innocent people, kidnap those they suspect of having money and even settling scores with those they disagree with.

This has left many people in fear, though the killings, especially government-sponsored killings, are dwindling. This is giving many people in the two English-speaking regions some hope that someday, things will return to normal. They are looking forward to the day when their children will be able to go to school without anybody harassing them. They are longing for the day they will be able to travel without the little criminals who pass off as fighters will not block the road and make their lives miserable.

In many parts of the two English-speaking regions of the country, civilians are coming together to fight those fake fighters who have made the lives of many Southern Cameroonians a living hell. The crooks are there for their own interest and have nothing to do with the liberation of Southern Cameroons. The people had supported the struggle in the beginning because they thought it would enable them walk away from the Francophone majority whose goal was to subjugate the English-speaking minority.

But their support for the fighters started dwindling when so-called leaders abroad started embezzling money meant for the war and the desperate fighters started using kidnapping and intimidation as a means of raising money to prosecute the war.   In any situation where there is a total breakdown in law and order, criminals can easily make hay while the sun shines and that is what armed criminals have been doing to line their pockets. 

Many people have been killed not by soldiers or real fighters but by criminals who are taking advantage of the chaos that the government has created and sustained for years. The seeds of oppression sown by the government have produced some of the worst ferocious violence and brutality in the two English-speaking regions of the country and this unfortunate situation will linger for a very long time, especially as unemployment remains a millstone around the necks of many young men. 

As the fighting is burning out, many observers are asking if the government has learned any lessons, especially from its own mistakes. The fighting itself could have been avoided if the government had used well-known conflict resolution mechanisms. Dialogue, not arms, will deliver more meaningful results in any conflict situation and the government should be aware of this. 

The government’s refusal to sincerely dialogue with Southern Cameroonian leaders when the conflict just started is to blame for the thousands of deaths on both sides. Many young men have been killed in a conflict which does not make sense to many people. Thousands of soldiers have been sent to an early grave and thousands of children will never have the opportunity of seeing their fathers because of the government’s wrong decisions.

Repression will never address the country’s issues and the government seems to have learned that but only after many lives have been cut short and development resources wasted in the purchase of arms that were unnecessary. The country’s economy has taken a beating and it will take time for an economy that has been on life support for decades to recover from another unnecessary shock like the war that is still raging on in Southern Cameroons. 

The violence started dying down once the government advised the military against killing civilians just to prove a point. Many Southern Cameroonians killed by the military were innocent civilians. They were not fighters. Fighters do not live in towns and cities. They seek refuge in bushes where they can plan their war strategy without fear. Many civilians were killed either in their homes or at city centers and they were not armed. Those killings only triggered a wave of revenge, and this unfortunate situation only created a large pool of fighters who were dead serious about revenging the death of their loved ones. 

Today, Cameroonians know how to build IEDs. Those IEDs have wreaked havoc on the military, with thousands sent to an early grave and expensive military equipment destroyed. The massive human cost and huge economic and military consequences should call the government to reason.

 Calling off unnecessary military killings of civilians has helped to reduce the tension and pressure that were hanging over many towns and cities in Southern Cameroons. The government should understand that its faulty policies are to blame for the conflict and a reversal of some of those policies could restore peace and security in the two English-speaking regions.

The current systems are not working and a persistence to use them may only push the country into a downward spiral that might trigger serious adverse consequences for the country. Cameroon needs peace and without peace, meaningful economic and social development will remain a distant tomorrow affair. The government seems to have understood this and the current conflict with teachers speaks to the government’s understanding and vulnerability. 

By opting for a speedy processing of teachers’ salaries and benefits, as well as avoiding any physical confrontation with thousands of teachers who have vowed not to return to school until their demands are met, the government has demonstrated that a non-military approach is the best when it comes to dealing with conflict. If this approach can be maintained, many issues will be dealt with, and Cameroon will regain its status as an oasis of peace in a desert of chaos. 

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

European Union issues “empty” statement on Cameroon

European Union issues “empty” statement on Cameroon

Today the Council approved conclusions on Cameroon stressing the importance that the EU attaches to its partnership with that country, and reaffirming the EU’s readiness to intensify engagement with the government, local authorities and civil society on all areas of mutual interest.

In its conclusions the Council encourages the government of Cameroon to ensure a peaceful and inclusive political environment and welcomes the commitments made to strengthen local governance following the Major National Dialogue of 2019.

The Council remains, however, extremely concerned by the ongoing crisis in the North-West and South-West regions, and appeals for an immediate end to the violence, respect of human rights and humanitarian principles, unimpeded humanitarian access and a safe environment for humanitarian work. In the light of the situation, the Council underlines the EU’s readiness to support any meaningful mediation initiative which might lead to a peaceful and long-term settlement.

The EU condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist actions by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Far North, and reaffirms its solidarity with Cameroon in this fight.

The EU will continue supporting Cameroon and Cameroonians in their efforts to build a stable and prosperous country for all, where human rights and democratic principles are fully respected.

Race and identity shaping US politics- Ukrainians got it. Southern Cameroonians didn’t

Race and identity shaping US politics- Ukrainians got it. Southern Cameroonians didn’t

 Looking at how swiftly the U.S. moved to grant temporary protections for Ukrainians living in the United States.    Russia’s assault on Ukraine careens toward its third week.

Talks between the two nations continue, but how or when the Kremlin-led bombardment will end remains anyone’s guess.

The Russian invasion ignited a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, particularly in major population centers receiving the brunt of attacks, including the capital city of Kyiv and the port city of Mariupol.

The International Organization for Migration, an arm of the United Nations, estimated the war has created nearly 3 million refugees who have fled the country since the conflict erupted on Feb. 24.

Temporary Protected Status, as its name suggests, is a short-term action and in this case will shield an estimated 75,000 Ukrainian nationals in the U.S., as of March 1, from deportation.

TPS is designated by the Department of Homeland Security for three main reasons: ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster or extraordinary temporary conditions that would make it impossible for nationals to return to their home countries.

“We in the Department of Homeland Security are acting in support of them,” said Secretary Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a video posted to Twitter on March 3 announcing the move. “Not just the Ukrainian people living in Ukraine, but also those here present in the United States.”

While no one can fault the Biden administration for its prompt action for the Ukraninans, many immigration advocates are taken aback by how quickly TPS came: a mere eight days after war erupted there.

“This was that aha moment, like OK, so you guys can make this decision in a matter of days,” said Haddy Gassama, an attorney based in Washington, D.C. “It should not take yearslong campaigns to establish proof that a certain country is too dangerous to deport people to.”

Gassama, who also serves as national director of policy and advocacy at UndocuBlack Network, which advocates on behalf of current and formally undocumented Black migrants, says countries like the central African nation of Cameroon also need TPS protections.

And after years of pushing, their efforts have yielded little results, which they say is disappointing for an administration that ran on a platform of rooting out inequities in federal agencies and programs.

Gassama added:

Haddy Gassama said: “I think what is a little bit jarring is that we did not expect that it would be such an uphill battle for a country that really should be a shoo-in."

Cameroon is in the midst of a conflict that goes back to 2016. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees from December found there were 1.5 million refugees and internally displaced people in Cameroon.

Should TPS be granted by the Biden administration, it would do nothing for those people in Cameroon. But without it, as is the case now, hundreds of Cameroonian nationals were deported by the Trump administration back to French Cameroun and have never been heard again and hundreds in the United States are at risk of being sent back to the current unstable conditions.

Advocates are also pushing for TPS action for Central American nations, including Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

Culled from Politico.com

Appointment of a Vice President: It’s all about power struggle among Beti-Ewondo political elite

Appointment of a Vice President: It’s all about power struggle among Beti-Ewondo political elite

The Francophone dominated political system in Yaoundé is in the throes of another agonized constitutional reform.  But this time around the proponents of the new push for amendments deep within government circles are barons of the ruling CPDM party.

Biya and his gang have tabled a bill at the National Assembly calling for the appointment of a Vice President of the Republic. Some of the hardliners contacted by Cameroon Concord News Group noted that the time is right to cure deficiencies created by President Biya’s poor health and his ill-equipped Minister-Secretary General at the Presidency Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh.

A look back in history since President Ahmadou Ahidjo resigned helps us understand Cameroon’s perennial quest for constitutional change and the appointment of a Vice President.

Constitutional power play in Yaoundé has remained a Francophone affair for more than 5 decades with French Cameroun local power brokers in the Grand North, Centre and South regions competing against one another. 

President Biya and his power-hungry French Cameroun political elites have faulted existing structures for over 40 years and many now say the current push for the appointment of a Vice President is all about competition to replace the frail Biya as head of state.

Ever since President Biya began ailing, rival political elites from his tribal setting have been engaging in regular mischief as they schemed to identify a suitable successor. Some have reportedly used the Special Criminal Court in Yaoundé to sideline party-mates such as Titus Edzoa, Jean-Marie Atangana Mebara, Chief Inoni Ephraim, Marafa Hamidou Yaya, Mebe Ngo’o in the succession line up.

President Biya’s acolytes including several CPDM party honchos from the Beti-Ewondo tribal extractions have turned to infighting pushing Franck Biya-President Biya’s eldest son to start to see how he can use the wrangling to ascend to the presidency.

The current law stipulates that in the event the president dies, the president of the so-called senate which is the upper house would take office for 90 days and then call an election.

Biya has been in power for 40 years and has engineered uncountable constitutional amendments just to secure power for himself and his Francophone political family.

At 89, President Biya and his ruling CPDM party are still in control of the National Assembly. However, the recent introduction of a bill at the National Assembly demanding the head of state to appoint a Vice President is indeed a far reaching step.

Biya has won every election and repealed the two-term limit he and his criminal syndicate had previously imposed on the Cameroonian electorate. With age telling on him, the butcher of Yaoundé is now left with nothing and maybe approaching his last journey of many dangers.

What would finally emerge with the appointment of a Vice President will be a co-presidency with a Francophone and an Anglophone occupying some new positions that will be concocted somewhere in Paris.

The current drive for change is happening not in the best interest of the already divided nation and it is also being driven by a very bias Francophone political power agenda.

The changes that are likely to be effected will, therefore, not be the last because there always will be a military coup in every African country with French connection.

The appointment of a Vice President soonest will not resolve the political crisis in both French and Southern Cameroons. Instead, groups or individuals will question the new power structure and those interested in grabbing power will do so via the blood relations in the army.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

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