A bishop in Cameroon’s troubled South West region said he is saddened by the rising number of kidnappings in the country’s two violence-ravaged English-speaking areas.

Bishop Michael Bibi of Buéa expressed shock over the Feb. 24 kidnapping of 11 teachers of a government-run school for blind and deaf students in the country’s North West region.

“It is sad, very sad that teachers should be kidnapped simply because they are teaching,” Bishop Bibi told Catholic News Service.

“This is just one other kidnap too many,” he said. “The whole idea of kidnapping has become very rampant. The question I am asking myself is why do you kidnap and torture and even kill the very people you say you are fighting to free?”

Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West regions have been embroiled in war for the past five years, with separatists fighting to create a new nation to be called Ambazonia.

French is the primary language spoken in much of Cameroon.

Since the conflict began, at least 4,000 people have been killed and more than 1 million forced to flee from their homes. Authorities estimate that 70,000 people have sought refuge in neighboring Nigeria.

Bishop Bibi said separatists kidnap people to raise money, with most of the kidnappings targeting schools as the separatists try to enforce a school boycott.

Bishop Bibi expressed concern that the kidnappings violate the rights of children to an education.

“The bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda (in the English-speaking regions) have always maintained that the children have a basic right to go to school. Even in times of war, we should not deprive them of education,” the bishop said.

“We cannot allow our children not to have the opportunity to go to school. Most of the kidnapping now is for financial reasons and settling of scores in some circumstances. These are all attitudes that we all condemn,” he added.

The deputy defense chief for the separatist movement, Capo Daniel, however, insists that the teachers were being punished for violating separatist instructions that all schools controlled by the central government should be closed.

“What we cannot allow is Cameroon setting up schools within Ambazonian Territory. Any Ambazonian who collaborates with the Cameroon state by participating in Cameroon government schools will be considered a traitor,” Daniel said.

He said the separatists were proposing alternative community schools for children, but Bishop Bibi dismissed the suggestion.

“How can you have that kind of school that functions without hope for the children to have a certificate?” he asked.

“Those who kidnapped those teachers should release them, and give them the opportunity to continue to help our children get the basic knowledge that they need,” he said.

Nearly six years ago, English-speaking teachers and attorneys took to the streets to protest what they considered government attempts to wipe out common law and British-based schooling systems practiced in the English-speaking regions.

The government took a hard-line stance, leading to a separatist insurgency bent on setting up an independent country called Ambazonia.

Source: Catholic News Service

As the separatist conflict continues to escalate in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, the country’s Anglophone bishops warned that “those who take the sword will perish by the sword.”

The Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province covers Cameroon’s English speaking North West and South West Regions. Separatists in the two regions been fighting for the past five years to break away from the rest of Cameroon, which is majority French-speaking, and form a new nation they call The Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

In a statement after their 72nd ordinary meeting held Feb. 10-11, the prelates noted “with deep pain and regret, the deteriorating socio­ political situation that has prevailed in the North West and South West Regions for a very long time now.”

The bishops expressed “solidarity with the suffering, oppressed and displaced persons and refugees,” and said they will continue to “condemn violent methods of resolving disputes, because violence usually leads to greater suffering and “those who take the sword will perish by the sword,” quoting the Gospel of Matthew.

At least 4000 people have died in the conflict, and more than a million forced to flee from their homes, according to UN estimates.

They bishops said they shared “in the sorrows and anxieties, and joys and hopes of their people,” and invoked “our Lady of Lourdes, to intercede for all our sick brothers and sisters and for all of us in our search for lasting justice and peace.”

Source: Crux Now

Some in the diocese have reacted negatively the various personnel changes made by the bishop since he assumed the office of apostolic administrator in 2019 (he became the bishop of the diocese in 2021.)

On June 20, 2020, he appointed Prof. Victor Julius Ngoh as Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University Institute of Buea, replacing Father George Nkeze Jingwa, who was asked to take a sabbatical leave.

Members of the University Council disapproved of the change and took the bishop to court, prompting the Vatican to intervene.

Bibi also outlawed certain lay associations which he said were created without due authorization.

In an online petition against Bibi, he was described as “an emperor and a tyrant bishop.”

The petition accuses the prelate of destroying Catholicism in the Buea Diocese, and of committing “xenophobia against innocent priests of God who are duly incardinated into Buea Diocese in accordance with Can. 265.”

But in their Feb. 11 statement, the bshops of the Bamenda province said they were shocked and saddened by the scale of the attacks, and expressed solidarity with Bibi.

“Our hearts were deeply saddened by the unfortunate turn of events in the Diocese of Buea, characterized by gross disrespect of the hierarchy of the Church, casting of aspersions on Bishop Michael Bibi, and deliberate distortion and manipulation of facts in order to misinform, divide and mislead the public through social media and other media organs, on certain important decisions taken by the Bishop in his attempt to bring the Diocese to align perfectly with the mind and practices of the Church.” the prelates said.

“We express our solidarity and communion with his Lordship Bishop Michael Bibi, whose decisions are in perfect alignment with the mind and discipline of the Church on these matters,” the statement added.

They called on the faithful of the Diocese of Buea to stay vigilant and work in communion with Bibi for the purpose of building a united and prosperous Diocese.

“While commending each one of you to Divine Protection through the intercession of Our Lady Queen of Peace, we ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will, with all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” the bishops continued.

“With knowledge of God’s will, wisdom, and understanding that comes from the Holy Spirit, you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge.”

Bibi will be celebrating his first anniversary of his canonical possession of the Diocese of Buea on Feb. 25.

Culled from Crux Now

Pope Francis has appointed Rev. Aloysius Fondong Abangalo as Bishop of the Diocese of Mamfe. The cleric from the diocese of Buea was until the appointment a lecturer at the St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui.

Cameroon Concord News understands His Lordship Bishop Aloysius Fondong Abangalo was born on June 5, 1973 in Limbe.  He studied Philosophy and Theology at the St. Thomas Aquinas Inter-diocesan Major Seminary in Bambui, in Bamenda.

Bishop Aloysius Abangalo holds a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Université Catholique d’Afrique Centrale UCAC (2011-2014) and a Doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Italy.

He was ordained a priest on April 20, 2006 in Buea and subsequently held the following positions in the Church hierarchy: Vicar of the Holy Family Parish of Limbe (2006-2007); Dean of Our Lady of Grace College in Muyuka (2007-2009); Diocesan Treasurer and Member of the College of Consultors (2009-2011); Teacher and trainer at St Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui and Defender of the Bond at the Inter-diocesan Tribunal of Bamenda (2014-2019).

This item is still developing

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files

The Holy Father Pope Francis has appointed a new bishop to take over the diocese of Bafoussam in French Cameroun.

Paul Lonlsie Keune has been installed to the new role as the fifth residential bishop succeeding Bishop Emeritus Dieudonné Watio.

The Man of God said that he was grateful to the Holy Father for his affirmation and trust.

The National Episcopal Conference has congratulated Bishop Keune saying he is a man of enthusiasm, great pastoral experience and vitality.

The installation ritual took place on Saturday February 12, 2022 at the St Joseph Catholic Cathedral in Bafoussam with a high Pontifical Mass that was celebrated by His Excellency Julio Murat, Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files

The President of the Confederation of African Football, (CAF), Dr Patrice Motsepe has donated $200,000(Sh440 million) to the Catholic church in Yaounde on behalf of the Motsepe Foundation.

The South African billionaire, who is overseeing the organisation of the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, (Afcon), announced the donation during a mass he attended at the St Joseph Anglophone Parish of the Catholic church in Mvog-Ada, Yaounde on Sunday.

The continental football chief was accompanied by the CAF Secretary General, Veron Mosengo-Omba.Motsepe said it was an honour to attend the church service that was officiated by the Archbishop of Yaounde, His Grace Jean Mbarga.

“For the Catholic church in Cameroon, the Motsepe Foundation will donate $ 200,000,” Motsepe announced, throwing close to a thousand worshippers into excitement.The CAF boss clarified that the cash was not from the continental football body, but from the Motsepe Foundation.

Archbishop Jean Mbarga had earlier led an interreligious service to pray for peace for the duration of the tourney that will run till February 6.

“I am excited to hear that the Bishop organised prayers for the success of the competition in his Basilica,” Motsepe said.During the interreligious service at the Mary Queen of the Apostles Basilica in Yaounde on January 5, Archbishop Jean Mbarga described football and the current competition as a veritable source of unity to the people of Cameroon.

And in what looked like a repetition, perhaps for emphasis, the Archbishop of Yaounde again restated in his homily on Sunday that football is the sport which easily unites Cameroonians.He then prayed for a hitch-free organization of the football fiesta.

“It is a privilege to have you pray together with us,” Archbishop Jean Mbarga told the CAF president and SG before invoking the Holy Spirit to guide and direct the CAF leaders and especially for the success of the ongoing tournament—Motsepe’s first since he became CAF president last year.

Source: The Citizen

A priest has been filmed being beaten by soldiers and dragged into a military vehicle in broad daylight in Cameroon. Father Tobias Bekong was abducted on January 12 in Buea in the South West Region. His parishioners say they have no idea why he was taken by members of Cameroon’s elite military force called the Rapid Intervention Battalion or BIR. He was released very late the same day, prompting civil society groups to question why security forces can behave with such impunity.

A local source (anonymous to protect him) says that soldiers ran into the church premises without permission, seizing the priest without asking who he was. His car was ransacked, he was dragged across the courtyard and taken away in a military vehicle.

Father Bekong’s abduction comes as global attention focuses on the Central African nation, which is currently hosting the month-long Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) football tournament. For weeks, separatist militias demanding their own Anglophone country they call ‘Ambazonia’ have threatened to disrupt football games being held in the English-speaking South West Region. Some human rights groups called for a ceasefire, urging the government of President Paul Biya to keep AFCON and civilians safe by announcing a road map toward peace talks mediated by a third party. However, the government continues to pursue a military strategy against the separatist fighters. It has been accused of heavy-handed tactics, including arbitrary arrests, burning of homes, and extrajudicial killings of civilians.

Since AFCON began in early January, there have been improvised explosions, gun battles in and around Buea causing casualties, and the assassination of a respected opposition senator. All employees of the local council have been ordered to attend matches, while academic and support staff at the University of Buea have been encouraged to fill the stadium. There are rumours that officials are paying local people to attend football matches in defiance of boycott demands from separatists. Photos of empty venues during games have circulated on social media. The teams from Mali and Tunisia were reported to have suspended practice sessions fearing they might be vulnerable to attack.

The escalating violence is a blow to the reputation of the Biya government which had assured international football officials that players and spectators would be safe. Cameroon’s plans to host AFCON have twice been postponed: first because of unpreparedness, and then due to Covid. There was embarrassment at the start of the tournament when Cameroon’s mascot was seen wearing a bulletproof vest, surrounded by soldiers. There has also been concern about the spread of Covid, following the misappropriation by Cameroonian officials of $335 million in pandemic mitigation funds provided by the IMF.

In 2021, separatist groups set off more than 80 IEDs, as violence increased in the Anglophone regions. The UN estimates 700,000 out of a population of six million Anglophones have been displaced, and a million children have been unable to attend school for five years due to a separatist-imposed boycott and insecurity. Separatists also enforce a weekly “ghost town” in the Anglophone regions, preventing normal activity every Monday, with sometimes lethal consequences for those who violate the ban. Reputable international rights watchdogs report atrocities against civilians by both government soldiers and armed separatists, charging all sides with behaving with impunity.

Religious figures have equally been targets of both sides. At least seven clergy have been assassinated since 2017, and priests and nuns have frequently been subject to intimidation and attack. As they attempt to preach peace, they face kidnapping for ransom by separatists and arbitrary arrest by government forces.

A local NGO, the Release Them Campaign, claims there are 3,500 Anglophone prisoners of conscience in Cameroon’s nine listed jails and dozens of police and military detention centres around the country. However, this estimate has not been substantiated.

Father Bekong was ordained in 2012. He serves at St Charles Lwanga Parish in Molyko, Buea, and is the principal of St Paul’s College Bojonga in Limbe where several AFCON matches are being played.

A local source who must remain anonymous lamented that the BIR is able to behave without regard to due process because there is a lack of international diplomatic pressure on the Cameroon authorities. In 2019, BIR, which reports directly to President Biya, looted a world heritage site at Bafut in Anglophone North West Region. An Amnesty International report accused the force of torturing and killing civilians.

“The BIR have been told that Biya is untouchable and has the backing of the global community,” said the Anglophone source. “They can behave like colonialist masters. That is why we are fighting them.”

Human rights groups say they regret that rather than use AFCON as an opportunity for peace, listening to the voices of clergy on the ground, the Cameroonian government has instead harmed and detained a religious authority. They say there is a need for sustained pressure by international partners of Cameroon, including the Vatican, to move the violent actors toward a just resolution around a peace table. A year ago, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, visited Cameroon, urging President Biya to join inclusive peace talks mediated by an impartial party such as the Swiss Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. The Cameroon government did not act on his suggestion.

Source: Independent Catholic News