Archbishop Nkea is preparing a unique catechism on peace aimed at rebuilding a generation scarred by a decade of violence – after thousands were killed and up to a million people displaced in the north-west.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya said the project, inspired by Pope Leo XIV’s message of peace, will consist of 100 questions and answers designed to teach young people of all faiths the values of human dignity, reconciliation and respect for life.

With support from Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the archbishop hopes to print and distribute the catechism widely among children and young people in north-west Cameroon, where conflict between separatist groups and government forces has raged since 2016.

He said: “During these ten years of suffering, our young people have grown up surrounded by violence.”

The crisis has left deep wounds across Cameroon’s English-speaking regions. According to figures cited by Archbishop Nkea, between 8,000 and 10,000 people have been killed, although he believes the true number could be higher, while between 800,000 and one million people have been forced to flee their homes.

The impact on children, who make up around 60 percent of the population, has been especially severe.

“The war has created a new generation deeply marked by conflict,” the archbishop said.

For around five years, many children were unable to attend school because of insecurity and attacks linked to the conflict. When some schools eventually reopened, many pupils had become too old to return to primary education.

The violence has also affected the Church, with priests, religious and bishops kidnapped during the unrest.

In one of the worst-hit areas of the archdiocese, abductions became so frequent that Archbishop Nkea took the dramatic decision to close parishes and withdraw clergy until their safety could be guaranteed.

What troubled him most, however, was that many of those involved were not strangers to the Church.

He said: “They were young people from the community itself. Many of their parents were Christians, and some of them also considered themselves Christians. They could attend Mass on Sunday and shortly afterwards kidnap a priest.”

Faced with the escalating violence, the archbishop rejected any suggestion of retaliation.

He stressed: “We are not going to fight anyone.”

The Church suspending its presence in some areas, prompted an unexpected response from local communities.

According to Archbishop Nkea, mothers began confronting their sons, warning them that the loss of churches, schools and hospitals would have serious consequences.

“They told them: ‘We cannot live without Mass.’ ‘If the bishop closes the Church hospitals, where will we go when we are sick?'”

Gradually, local residents became involved in efforts to secure the release of kidnapped clergy.

Determined not to lose the services provided by the Church, community leaders pressured armed groups and negotiated for the release of their captives.

For Archbishop Nkea, the experience highlighted the urgent need to address the damage done to a generation raised amid bloodshed and instability.

“They have witnessed killings. They have witnessed kidnappings. They have seen respect for human life and human dignity decline,” he said.

He believes the answer lies not only in ending violence but also in teaching a new way of thinking.

“We want to build a new culture. A culture based on respect for the human person, the value of life, reconciliation and peace.”

That conviction led to the creation of the peace catechism, inspired by a visit to Bamenda by Pope Leo XIV, who left what the archbishop described as “a very powerful message of peace” that shouldn’t be squandered.

Around 15,000 pupils attend Catholic schools across the archdiocese, including Christians, Muslims and followers of traditional religions. As a result, the text will focus not on Catholic doctrine but on universal values such as forgiveness, peaceful coexistence, respect for human dignity and the sanctity of life.

“It will be a text based on the Holy Father’s message of peace. This catechism will not be intended only for Catholics. We believe it is a concrete way of sowing peace among the younger generations,” Archbishop Nkea said.

With ACN’s support, he hopes the catechism can be distributed widely and introduced to children from an early age.

After ten years in which many young Cameroonians have known little except conflict, the Church in Bamenda hopes the initiative will help cultivate a different future rooted in reconciliation, respect and peace.

Culled from Independent Catholic News

Bishop George Nkuo of Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Kumbo has marked the 20th anniversary of his Episcopal Ordination with thanksgiving, reflecting on the journey of his Priestly and Episcopal ministry and asking for the grace to continue serving God’s people with hope, compassion and perseverance.

Speaking during a Thanksgiving Mass marking the anniversary on Tuesday, September 8, Bishop Nkuo thanked members of the St. Augustine’s College (SAC) community who joined him in prayer, saying the occasion offered him an opportunity to look back on the two decades since he was ordained a Bishop.

He reminded those gathered that while the occasion marked a personal milestone, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist must remain centered on Jesus Christ.

“It’s Christ who is the center of our celebration. So let us not shift our attention from Christ to the Bishop. It’s Christ Himself who is present with us,” he said.

The Local Ordinary of Kumbo shared a personal prayer inspired by his reflection earlier in the day on the Blessed Virgin Mary, inviting the faithful to pray with him as he renewed his entrustment of his Priestly ministry to the Mother of Jesus.

“Mary, Mother of Jesus and my Mother, I entrust my Priesthood to you again,” he said.

Reflecting on two images of Mary — holding the infant Jesus at Bethlehem and standing with Christ in the mystery of His suffering and redemption — the Catholic Bishop asked for the grace to make his ministry one of liberation and service.

“I ask for intercession that my Priestly ministry will always be one of redeeming the people I serve from whatever holds them back from becoming more than the human being God wants them to be. This is my vocation. This is my work. This is my life,” he said.

The Local Ordinary of Kumbo, since September 2006 asked Mary to help him treasure in his heart the blessings God has bestowed upon him and to develop a more positive outlook in the face of difficulties and disappointments.

Bishop Nkuo acknowledged that ministers of the Church can sometimes become overly focused on what goes wrong, the suffering people experience and the disappointments encountered in life.

He said he had prayed for the grace to look beyond suffering and failure and to recognize the hope offered by Christ’s Resurrection.

“I need you to have a more positive outlook. That’s my prayer this morning, and I know you can help me,” he said.

The Catholic Bishop then expressed one of the central reflections of his anniversary prayer: “I want to be able to look at the crucifix and see Easter.”

Bishop Nkuo said he wanted to learn to see failure and rejection not as reasons for despair but as opportunities to learn and improve.

“I want to treat failure and rejection as information about how I can do better. I know from experience that I have a chance. I can dwell on negative outcomes or on positive projections. Help me to choose the latter,” he said.

The Bishop of Kumbo said a more positive attitude would enable him to approach those entrusted to his pastoral care with greater hope.

“With a more positive attitude, Mary my Mother, I can approach the people I am serving with greater hope. And this is certainly what they need,” he said.

Reflecting on his ministry as a preacher of the Gospel, Bishop Nkuo noted that many people who come to Church carry the burdens of difficult experiences from their daily lives.

“When I stand at the pulpit on the weekend, I need to realize the people before me have come from a week of hardships, difficulties, disappointments, tensions, and heartaches. And they are looking to me to give them a reason to go back into their daily lives and try again to persevere,” he said.

He therefore asked Mary, whom he described as one who persevered through the different stages of her Son’s public ministry and stood at the foot of the Cross, to help him nourish God’s people with the Gospel.

“You know what people need, and you can help me to feed them the solid food of the Gospel to nourish them in their perseverance,” he implored.

The Bishop also asked for the grace to empathize with those facing difficulties even when he himself needs encouragement and support.

“Help me, Mother of Joy and Mother of Sorrow, to bring reinforcement into the people’s lives and to empathize with people’s problems even while I myself am looking for understanding and support,” he said.

Bishop Nkuo, who was ordained a Priest for the Diocese of Buea in April 1981, expressed his desire to remain rooted in the mystery of Christ’s Incarnation, suffering, death and Resurrection.

He prayed for the grace to “kneel before the King of Bethlehem” and to remain faithful at the Cross of Calvary, believing that the Risen Christ continues to accompany and strengthen him.

He asked Mary to help him remain convinced “with all my heart that the Son now risen is always with me and within me, strengthening me with the resurrection power to persevere.”

Culled from aciafrica