Before we delve into Bernard Fonlon’s luminous vision for the Cameroonian priesthood, it is fitting to pause and contemplate the man himself, a soul of rare brilliance and noble bearing, whom I dare to call the greatest Cameroonian ever to have lived. He was born in the quiet obscurity of Ndzeng, a modest village cradled in the verdant hills of the Nso Kingdom, yet from those humble origins emerged a mind destined for greatness and a heart forged in the fire of faith. Bright, contemplative, disciplined, and humbly resolute, the young Fonlon believed his path was to serve God at the altar. This conviction led him to Bigard Memorial Seminary in Onitsha, Nigeria, one of the most esteemed houses of formation in West Africa. But God, in His mysterious providence, charted a different course. He was asked to leave the seminary, a decision that pierced him deeply. And yet, Fonlon responded not with rebellion or resentment, but with an extraordinary serenity of soul. As his close friend, the late Archbishop Paul Verdzekov, tenderly observed, Fonlon left the seminary without rancor, his heart unburdened by bitterness.[i] He accepted the will of his superiors with the obedience of a saint and the poise of a philosopher, entrusting his future not to chance, but to God’s inscrutable wisdom.

This moment of trial did not break him; it revealed him. On Friday, November 27, 1953, he recorded in his diary reflections so profound and searing in their sincerity that they deserve to be read by every priest, seminarian, and soul longing to discern God’s call. It is a passage carved from the heart of a man who, though never ordained, lived and breathed the priesthood in its highest essence, as a life wholly given to truth, to virtue, and the service of humanity. I wish now to share, in its entirety, that sacred entry, a spiritual jewel in the diary of a modern prophet:

“The things that are happening to me, at present, are making one idea clear and clear to my mind, from day to day: the immense value of humiliation. A man left to himself, with everything as his heart desires, with success whenever he puts his hand, will end up in pride as surely as a bubble swells and rises, and rises but to burst; for, when a man gets drunk with a sense of his own importance, his fall is inevitable; and the higher he has risen, the greater the force with which he comes crashing to the ground.

Humiliation brings you down on your knees, brings you back to yourself, and deflates you like men deflate a balloon: you see your own misery, it dawns upon you that you are nothing; and, if you respond to the touch of grace, and wonder under your humiliation in silence and gratitude, it is then you will hear the voice of God.

I see it plain today, humility is a great virtue, humiliation a great blessing, and no man can get anywhere on earth except he is prepared to lie, yes, beneath the very dust on which men trample; except he is prepared for those situations, when your head is low in innocent shame and you feel despicable even in your own eyes.

            Thorough humility is my goal from today: and from its steadfast pursuit, there shall be no turning back. I do not pray that the gall of my humiliations should be sweetened in the least; nor do I pray that the cup be taken from the lips lest it is drained to the dregs. I only beg of God to keep me far, far from that humiliation which comes through sin, when a man has become so blind, in his pride, that nothing but the shame of a great moral collapse or catastrophe can open his eyes.

Moved by these thoughts, I submit myself whole-heartedly to my present lot. Indeed, it is with sentiments of deep gratitude that I do so. For I am positive that the day will come when, seeing the good it shall have done to me, I will feel like dancing in the very street, that I had the experience I am going through today. And being so certain of this, I hasten to give thanks in the very throes of my agony; I hasten to give thanks to God before the benefits arrive.

As said elsewhere, in this diary, to become a writer is one of the clearest wishes of my heart; and now with the priesthood all but lost and gone, writing is the only ambition that is left. I have learnt, from history, that they will best who have suffered most. And I am inclined to believe that the things that I am passing through, today, are one of God’s mysterious ways of preparing me for that career, for now I see that it is by suffering and sorrow that we can acquire that power of emotion, and feeling, and compassion, so essential to effective writing. I see God wants to purify my life through deep humiliations and I submit to the buffeting.”[ii]

Indeed, God was preparing Bernard Fonlon for a far-reaching and luminous mission, not as a priest at the altar, but as a professor, statesman, and true philosopher of the soul. History would come to know him as the Socrates of Cameroon, a man whose words carried weight not just for their eloquence, but for the moral force behind them.

Though he left the seminary, he never strayed from the ideals he had once embraced within its hallowed walls. His diary contains entries that read like commandments etched upon the tablets of his heart. He called them his “Laws”, sacred principles by which he vowed to live. They were: The Law of Truth, the Law of Non-violence, the Law of Selfless Love, the Law of Silence, the Law of Simplicity, Detachment, and Discipline, the Law of Submission, the Law of Work, the Law of Fearlessness, the Law of Kindness, the Law of Self-Effacement. These were not abstract ideals. They were the living pulse of his conscience, and he sought to embody them in every thought, every word, every public action.

In a nation and indeed, in a continent too often wounded by pride, corruption, and the cult of power, Fonlon stood as a living antithesis: a man of rare humility, moral fortitude, and incorruptible integrity. He served as a minister without arrogance, a politician without guile, an intellectual without vanity. To the end, he remained faithful to the vow he once made in silence: “It is my ambition to live the life of a simple man.”[iii] And so, he died, a simple man, but one whose life was immensely consequential. Among the many tributes that poured forth upon his passing, one came from his dear friend, Richard Bjornson of Ohio State University, who wrote of him with a reverence reserved for saints and sages:

“In some ways, the very fact that he died in semi-obscurity is symbolically appropriate, for despite the accomplishments of his life, Fonlon was a humble man, who never really sought the limelight. As others gained fame and notoriety, he laboured patiently and effectively, as a government minister, as the editor of an impressive cultural journal, and as a teacher, to realize the lofty ideals he had set for himself. He always defended the highest standards of excellence, and unlike many of his successful countrymen, he was never interested in amassing a personal fortune. In fact, he became an almost legendary exemplar of integrity and the modest lifestyle in a country where conspicuous consumption is commonly regarded as a prerequisite of success.”[iv]

            Having painted the portrait of this saintly figure, I now return to the heart of his legacy, his prophetic vision for the priesthood in Cameroon. Though his own path to the altar was interrupted, Bernard Fonlon’s reverence for the Catholic priesthood never waned. As his close friend, Archbishop Paul Verdzekov, movingly observed, his dismissal from the seminary in no way diminished his deep attachment to the ideals of the Catholic priesthood for which he had consecrated the formative years of his youth.[v]

When he heard of the establishment of the lone Regional Major Seminary for Anglophone Cameroon, Fonlon was filled with joy. Ever the passionate thinker and faithful son of the Church, he took up his pen and composed a powerful Open Letter to the bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province. In it, he outlined what he considered to be the two indispensable pillars of priestly formation in Cameroon: saintliness and learning. These two qualities, holiness and intellectual depth, form the axis of Fonlon’s vision for the priesthood. It is precisely on these that I would now like to dwell more deeply, as I reflect on his enduring legacy and how it continues to speak urgently and powerfully to the Cameroonian clergy of today.

Bernard Fonlon argued passionately and prophetically in his Open Letter that the Cameroonian priest must be a man steeped in holiness of life. For him, sanctity was not a decorative virtue, a pious accessory worn on Sundays and discarded on weekdays; it was the bedrock of priestly identity, the very core from which all authentic ministry must flow. His personal diary unveils the inner world of a man deeply convinced that holiness is a discipline, not a spontaneous emotional state, but a deliberate, hard-won pursuit, forged in the crucible of sacrifice. For Fonlon, discipline and poverty were not constraints but sacred instruments: gateways to freedom, the very conditions necessary for a priest to be truly himself before God and his people. That is why, in one of the most stirring declarations of the Open Letter, he wrote:

“In a world that is rank and rotten with materialism, where hedonism is the principal philosophy, where luxury is the summum bonum, there is a crying need for dedicated souls who would go the other extreme and espouse the spirit of genuine religion, the spirit of poverty, the spirit of austere abstemiousness, in order to wage war against the onslaught of materialist godlessness. For this, one thing is absolutely necessary, Discipline: discipline of the mind, discipline of the heart, discipline of the will; discipline not imposed from without by fear, but a free and willing discipline, welling from within, stemming from deep and unshakable convictions.” Fonlon believed that the priest must embody the countercultural witness of holiness to be a faithful minister of the Gospel. He must live in such a way that his very presence becomes a rebuke to the spirit of the age, a beacon in a world darkened by the cult of self and the seduction of comfort. In this, Fonlon’s vision harmonizes beautifully with that of G.K. Chesterton, who once wrote: “A saint is a medicine because he is an antidote. Indeed, that is why the saint is often a martyr; he is mistaken for a poison because he is an antidote. He will generally be found restoring the world to sanity by exaggerating whatever the world neglects. . . . Yet each generation seeks its saint by instinct, and he is not what the people want, but rather what they need.”[vi] And who does this age of mammon need? Who stands as the most piercing contradiction to our times, where wealth is hoarded like a god and success is measured by the weight of gold rather than the depth of the soul? It needs a priest who embodies the virtues of the revolutionary St Francis of Assisi to rebuke the world by opting for a radical opposite of what the world embraces. He again wrote: “If the world grows too worldly, it can be rebuked by the Church; but if the Church grows too worldly, it cannot be adequately rebuked for worldliness by the world. Therefore, it is a paradox of history that each generation is converted by the saint that contradicts it most.” [vii]

To grasp the weight of Bernard Fonlon’s call for a holy priesthood, one must first descend into the aching heart of Cameroonian society, a land once adorned with promise, now gasping beneath the rubble of its own broken dreams. Ours is a bruised and bleeding nation, lying prostrate by the roadside of history, like the wounded man in the Gospel of Luke, waiting in vain for a Good Samaritan who never seems to come. The trauma runs deep, like roots twisted into the soul of the land. Cameroon, unfortunately, has offered its soul on the altar of Mammon, bartering away its conscience for gold that rusts and power that devours. Greed is no longer a vice; it is a much sort after virtue. Corruption no longer hides in shadows; it dances openly in the streets. It is a god, enthroned not in shrines but in ministries, market squares, and homes, whispering to the heart of every Cameroonian: “Take what you can, while you can.” On all the streets of the towns and villages of our country, the song is the same: money first, morals later. From the roadside policeman extorting the struggling driver, to the government worker delaying service until “motivation” is received, to the judge whose gavel bows to the highest bidder, everything is up for sale, even human dignity.

The tragedy is not just that corruption reigns; it is that it has become our national catechism, repeated in classrooms, offices, and homes. No longer whispered in shame, it is preached with pride. The people cry out against it, but many have also bought into it, victims and perpetrators in a wretched dance of complicity. What remains of the seventh, eighth, and tenth commandments in a land where theft is considered wisdom, lies are seen as survival, and covetousness is celebrated as ambition? We organize parties to celebrate the fact that we bribed our way into a “famed” institution. We offer Masses of thanksgiving for a job we bought with money, denying the poor and qualified people a chance to excel and earn an income in a field where they are competent. The only virtue in Cameroon is mediocrity. The moral will to resist has been bled dry. The rule of law, a crumbling pillar, too feeble to hold the weight of justice. The courtrooms no longer defend the weak; they auction off their cries to the rich. The poor man’s voice does not echo, it is swallowed by the iron walls of bureaucracy. And so the people live like exiles in their own land, slaves to a system that protects only the powerful. And so, they say to themselves: “If we cannot beat the system, why not join it?” After all, what is there to gain by obeying the law, by clinging to honesty in a land where dishonesty is rewarded, and integrity is punished? And thus, little by little, the entire nation slides into the abyss of moral chaos, a society unmoored, where vice becomes virtue and truth is bartered for survival.

Cameroon has become a moral desert, where the only law is the survival of the strongest, and the only ethic is: get ahead or be buried. In this harsh terrain, the heart grows cold and callous. The bus driver speeds past death itself for a few more francs. The patient dies at the hospital gate while the nurse waits for “something to drink.” The teacher sells grades. The pastor sells miracles. The politician sells the nation. We lie without flinching. We cheat without shame. Every encounter becomes a negotiation of power and self-interest, a masked battle of who will exploit whom first. Trust is dead; truth is expensive and holiness is laughed at. And in this din of moral decay, those who still speak for truth are hunted with quiet violence, fired, silenced, disappeared. Their fall is meant to be a warning: “Do not dream aloud. Do not stand too tall.” We have become a people afraid of virtue, allergic to light, drunk on shadows, and contented with darkness.

This is the society the Cameroonian priest enters, not with naive hope, but with eyes wide open. It is a field of bones, and he must choose: to speak life or be buried in silence. He must not merely survive this whirlwind; he must stand against it, like an oak refusing to bow to the storm. For the priest who dares to remain holy in Cameroon must be like St. John Mary Vianney in Ars, a man who, by sheer sanctity, turned a hardened village into a haven of grace. Fonlon believed with all his soul that this is what the Cameroonian priest must become: a man of God so rooted in virtue that his presence disturbs the comfortable and comforts the disturbed. He must be vigilant, for corruption seeps not like a flood, but like dry-season dust, settling slowly and imperceptibly on the furniture of the soul. And before long, the priest may find himself buried in grime he no longer recognizes.

The only way to resist this creeping erosion is with holiness-hard, disciplined, radiant holiness-not the kind that preaches but the kind that bleeds. The type that confronts power not with shouting but with silence. The kind that shows what it means to give without cost in a society of sellers. Fonlon knew that such priests could save a nation. And we must believe it too, before the dust of this long dry season swallows us whole.

As Cameroonian priests, we have many reasons to feel discouraged, to feel the weight of sorrow pressing upon our souls, especially when we contemplate the long and tragic litany of our martyred brethren, whose blood has soaked the very soil of this nation. Priests and religious, torn from their mission with brutal cruelty, because they dared to raise their voices against the god of power, greed, and Mammon, who has built his shrine upon our land. Yet their blood is not shed in vain. Like the ancient martyrs of the Church, their sacrifice is a seed of resurrection, a crimson cry not of vengeance, but of hope. It urges us not to fall into despair, but to rise into holiness, to embrace the costly sanctity that alone can redeem and revive our society. Let us remember their names with reverence and trembling: Bishop Jean-Marie Mballa, Engelbert Mveng, Yves Plumey, Anthony Fontegh, Appollinaire Claude Ndi, Alexandre Sop, Xavier François Bikong, Albert Njama, Christophe Komla, Ola Bebe, Martin Bikoa, Joseph Mbassi, and so many more, martyrs of truth, whose witness pierces the silence of our comfort.

The holiness we are called to is not cheap. It is a holiness marked by the shadow of the Cross, by the readiness to suffer, to lose everything, even life itself, for the sake of the Gospel. When we lie prostrate before the altar at ordination, we do not merely kneel before the Church; we surrender ourselves even unto death. We must ask ourselves: Has the priesthood grown too comfortable? Are we still willing to disturb the silence of injustice? Are we still challenging ourselves, as men set apart to bear witness? These are not rhetorical questions; they must haunt our prayer, our preaching, and our posture before the people. That is why the priesthood in our beloved Cameroon must be embraced not as a profession, but as a spiritual adventure, a pilgrimage of the soul. For, as Georges Bernanos profoundly observed, “All spiritual adventures are martyrdoms.”[viii] And truly, the Cameroonian priest walks through a world refined in cruelty, sophisticated in every form of wickedness. He must absorb that wickedness, confront it face-to-face, and yet bear no trace of it.[ix] Like Christ, he becomes a lamb among wolves, bleeding silently, so that others might live.

We must never forget Baba Simon, that holy missionary who, in the plains of northern Cameroon, chose the poverty of the people as his own, lived among them, suffered with them, and radiated the quiet light of sanctity. His presence, like a hidden flame, still warms the conscience of this nation, reminding us of what the priesthood truly means. We need this holiness now more than ever, a costly holiness, a martyrdom of presence. We must entrust ourselves daily to prayer, asking the Holy Spirit for the gift of courage and fortitude so that we may walk where the martyrs walked and shine where darkness seeks to reign. Only holiness can heal this land. Bernard Fonlon saw this; he knew this, so he emphasized saintliness. And saints, as Remy Rougeau notes in his introductory note to Diary of a Country Priest, have a challenging position in society because they are ambassadors of truth in a world of illusion.[x]

The second quality Bernard Fonlon demanded of the Cameroonian priest was learning. A man of books himself, Fonlon was a scholar whose intellectual models included St. John Henry Newman, Thomas Aquinas, and Plato. In his legendary Open Letter to the Bishops, he proposed that the motto of the seminary regarding philosophical and theological studies should be captured in a single word: “Thorough.” No room, he insisted, should be given to superficiality.

Fonlon rejected the model of the priest as merely a curé de campagne, a well-meaning but unlettered country cleric. What he envisioned was a learned man, one who pursued study not as a pedestal for pride but as a tool for mission. How can a priest lift his people out of ignorance if he himself is ignorant? How can he guide his flock through the storms of modernity without the compass of intellectual clarity? Like St. John Henry Newman, Fonlon understood that the priest must first be grounded in philosophy and social realities before attempting to engage them theologically. He knew that without such grounding, the Church would be ill-equipped to respond to the moral, social, and educational challenges of our day.

A priest in Cameroon remains a moral point of reference. He is looked upon as a teacher, a guide, and a father, not only in matters of faith but in all that touches the human condition. Therefore, there should never be a false divide between sanctity and scholarship. Holiness does not mean fleeing from study, nor does study take one away from the people. Even in the most remote villages, the priest must remain a doctor of souls and the intellect. Think of the monumental work done by priests across our continent. Fr. Placide Tempels labored to systematize African philosophy, laying the groundwork for deep and lasting engagement with African thought. Or those missionary priests who documented our oral traditions, translated Scripture into local languages, and doubled as doctors, engineers, anthropologists, living out St. Paul’s words: “I have become all things to all men.” In Cameroon, we can recall the towering intellects who married priesthood and study: Engelbert Mveng, Jean-Marc Ela, Jean-Robert Bulaga, Humphrey Tata, and many others. Their voices, steeped in both prayer and rigorous thought, still echo through our seminaries, universities, and hearts.

To be great evangelizers, we must first be students of the human spirit. We must know the spirit of the age, understand the errors of the past, and propose a path forward. None of this is possible without disciplined study. Fonlon understood this, which is why he believed that the renewal of our society begins not with political revolutions but with the intellectual and moral awakening of the priesthood. Would it not be an excellent practice if priests were to read at least one good book every three weeks? Not for display, but for the quiet formation of the mind and soul. Every page we turn becomes a brick in the invisible cathedral of our vocation.

Fonlon’s vision to shape priests who are both saints and scholars remains one of the most potent roadmaps for renewal in our ministry and in our nation. We cannot give what we do not have. But if we take his counsel to heart, we will lose nothing and gain everything. May this luminary of our land, now on the path to sainthood, continue to inspire a generation of priests who lead by example and wisdom.

By Fr Denis Tameh, JCL

Ahead of contentious presidential elections set for Oct. 12, many young Catholic voters in Cameroon say they’re seeking “generational change,” widely understood as a call to end the 43-year reign of 92-year-old President Paul Biya.

“It defies logic for someone of such advanced age to lead a predominantly young population,” said Omar Yusinyu, a member of the Catholic Men Association at St. Anne’s Parish in Obili, encapsulating a core sentiment driving the youthful dissent.

“In a normal society, aged people give way to young ones, especially their children, to manage most of their businesses,” he told Crux.

Biya is seeking an unprecedented 8th term in office. Should he prevail, he would be almost 100 years old by the time his term ended.

Biya recently left the country for what his office has termed a private visit to Europe. The trip comes a week after his daughter, Brenda, urged Cameroonians not to vote for her father, accusing him of causing enormous suffering for the country’s people. She has, however, since walked back on that statement.

Biya faces competition from 11 other candidates, including two former ministers who resigned to challenge their long-serving boss.

Catholic youth interviewed by Crux are increasingly vocal in their opposition to extending the tenure of the world’s oldest leader and Africa’s second-longest-serving president, after Equatorial Guinea’s Obiang Nguema.

Yusinyu said he has not yet made up his mind on who to vote for, but Biya isn’t among those he’s considering.

“Biya seeking another 7-year term is an insult to the youth,” he said.

“It’s sometimes shameful to see a young man in Cameroon claiming that a 92-year-old man is the best Cameroonians can have. For more than 40 years in power, there is no single achievement that his government can boast of. This is a man who took Cameroon from somewhere and has brought the country to its knees,” he said.

But it is not only the President’s age that has become a major turn-off for youth. Decades of poor governance are also driving Catholic youth to seek alternative leadership.

“The country is not well-governed, and it is so because of the current president,” said Divine Kwansu.

Yusinyu starkly states that after more than 40 years in power, “there is no single achievement that his government can boast of.”

Many young Cameroonians believe the nation has been brought “to its knees” by leadership which, according to Divine, has increasingly been ruling by proxy, with decisions made on the president’s behalf that have not benefited citizens. This growing frustration among youth reflects a broader desire for accountability and effective governance that has been absent for decades.

While youth have not identified the candidate they want to vote for, Yusinyu said he is cautiously considering Biya’s former minister who resigned earlier this year to challenge the incumbent for the top job, Issa Tchiroma.

Tchiroma had served as Biya’s minister for about 20 years, but Yusinyu believes that of the 11 candidates challenging the incumbent, Tchiroma remains “the lesser evil.”

“It’s clear that Issa Tchiroma Bakary seems to be the lesser evil that people should go in for. He has made some interesting steps since his candidacy was [approved] by the elections management body. If he stands the promises he’s made, there could be some significant change,” he told Crux.

Yusinyu explained that despite Tchiroma’s 20-year history with the same regime he now opposes, his calls for opposition unity and apologies for past actions as Minister of Communication are attributes of leadership that should guide the electorate.

“Giving him a chance, even if just because Cameroonians are tired of hearing the name Biya for over four decades, will be good for me,” Yusinyu said, reflecting a pragmatic approach rooted more in desire for change than absolute confidence in the opposition candidate.

The emerging political consciousness represents a significant challenge to the established order, as young Cameroonians demand the opportunity to shape their nation’s future beyond the shadow of a presidency that has spanned most of their lives.

Catholic bishops in the Central African nation have been calling on the electorate to actively take part in the presidential polls.

In a September 26 pastoral letter, the Bishop of Bafoussam in Cameroon’s West region urged Christians not only to vote, but also to “defend” their vote.

Bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province in August described voting as “an act of grave moral responsibility” and called upon the electorate to be guided by principles of truth, justice, and the common good.

“Elections represent significant moments that engage the attention of all citizens, while at the same time, an occasion for the people to assert their sovereignty through the free and deliberate choice of their leaders,” the bishops said.

“The exercise of the right to vote is an act of grave moral responsibility,” they added, before urging “all duly registered voters to exercise their civic responsibility during the presidential election by voting in accordance with the dictate of their conscience.”

Source: Crux

Cameroon’s churches and mosques are intensifying efforts to promote calm and civic responsibility as the country prepares for its 12th October presidential election, amid fears that rising tensions could trigger violence.

The Central African nation has been rattled by years of unrest, including a separatist insurgency in its English-speaking regions and widespread allegations of corruption. Economic hardship and deepening mistrust in state institutions have heightened anxiety ahead of the polls, with analysts warning that online hate speech and political rivalries could inflame unrest before or after results are announced.

Catholic bishops have been among the most vocal religious voices calling for peace. In August, Bishop Barthélemy Yaouda Hourgo of the Diocese of Yagoua ordered all parishes to ring bells daily at 12:30pm for the Angelus prayer, calling on the faithful to pray for stability.

“As pastor of this diocese, I ordain that all the faithful recite the Angelus together each day to ask God for peace and entrust the elections to the Virgin Mary,” Hourgo said, adding that peace “is a gift from God but also the fruit of our daily commitment.”

Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala used his pastoral letter to denounce what he called “anti-Gospel acts,” including corruption and bad governance, which he said are fueling public discontent.

“Our country is thirsty for social justice expressed through respect for human rights,” he said. “Every Cameroonian must resolve to do his or her bit in the fight against the many ills that are destroying the country.”

During Bafoussam’s annual Peace Pilgrimage, Bishop Paul Lontsié-Keuné reminded Christians that their prayers must translate into action. “If we are sincere and really Christians, our prayer for peace must inspire our action – and our action must also be prayer,” he said.

The Council of Protestant Churches of Cameroon (CEPCA) has pledged to mobilise congregations against hate speech and promote peaceful participation in the vote. In late August, a 15-member delegation led by Rev Hamadina Salomon met with Minister of State Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh at the Unity Palace. Ngoh Ngoh, representing President Paul Biya, praised the initiative and urged clergy to act as “apostles of peace” and “guardians of stability.”

Muslim leaders have also organised a national “peace and stability” conference and collective prayers for unity, encouraging worshippers to see peaceful participation in the election as a religious duty.

Pastor Emmanuel Ngang, a traveling preacher in Cameroon’s western region, has been holding services in both city churches and rural chapels to spread a simple message: unity is stronger than division.

Ngang said he keeps his message brief and practical so congregants can take it to heart. “I remind people that peace starts with each of us,” he said. “We must speak carefully, vote honestly and keep the country together.”

His visits often include meetings with youth groups, where he encourages young people to avoid spreading inflammatory posts online.

“Many of them fear what will happen if things turn violent,” he said. “I tell them fear can paralyse us, but faith can guide us.”

Observers say that religious leaders play an outsized role in Cameroon’s public life, often serving as moral voices in a country where political trust is low. But they also walk a fine line: some critics argue that their close contact with government officials risks undermining their independence.

Still, analysts agree that their combined influence could help shape the tone of the electoral period. Faith leaders say they are not endorsing candidates but trying to keep the peace.

“My task is not to tell people who to vote for,” Ngang said after a recent service. “It is to remind them that Cameroon will still be here the day after the election – and we will still need to live together.”

Source: sightmagazine

Days after suspected separatist fighters killed nine Cameroonian soldiers in the South West region, Bishop Michael Bibi of Buea condemned the relentless bloodshed plaguing Cameroon’s English-speaking regions.

On Friday, the separatist group Fako Unity Warriors claimed responsibility for an explosive device near Malende that killed the soldiers. This attack underscores the elusive nature of peace in the Anglophone regions — a reality deeply troubling to the bishop.

“War is not something to be encouraged,” the cleric told Christians during a Sunday teaching. “God did not create us to fight each other and to kill each other,” Bibi said.

“Human life is sacred because it has its source and origin in God. When it comes into existence, it continues to have a relationship with God,” Bibi said referencing the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

“Only God, who gives human life, has the right to take it away,” the bishop emphasized.

“Those who fight and take life must know this is wrong. That is why the Church calls us to be advocates of justice and peace, ensuring our communities are free from fighting and killing,” he said.

Cameroon’s English-speaking regions have been embroiled in conflict since 2016. What began as peaceful protests by teachers and lawyers against perceived marginalization by the Francophone-dominated government descended into a brutal separatist war following a harsh government crackdown.

This conflict, however, is deeply rooted in Cameroon’s colonial past. Once a German colony, the territory was divided between Britain and France after Germany’s defeat in World War I. The two powers administered their respective regions — first as League of Nations Mandates and later as United Nations Trust Territories — until independence. In 1961, a UN-supervised plebiscite led to the reunification of the two Cameroons under a federal system. This federation, however, was short-lived. In 1972, it was abolished in favor of a unitary state, concentrating power in the Francophone-dominated central government.

For Anglophone Cameroonians, this dissolution marked the beginning of systemic marginalization. The grievances that fueled the 2016 protests were not spontaneous; they were the culmination of decades of pent-up frustration over the erosion of their political autonomy, cultural identity, and economic opportunities.

The human cost of the war that has been going on now for nearly nine years is staggering. Beyond the recent soldier casualties, the conflict has claimed at least 6,500 lives according to the International Crisis Group. About a million others have been forced to flee their homes to escape indiscriminate violence, burning villages, and widespread human rights abuses committed by both sides.

There are legitimate fears that more violence lies ahead as the school year begins, given separatists have long made a school boycott a cornerstone of the separatist struggle, and as the country heads to a presidential election in October.

Already, separatists have imposed lockdowns, saying they want to disrupt the new school year as well as the October presidential poll.

“Apart from the Monday lockdowns [for long, separatists had imposed lockdowns in the two regions every Monday], the ‘boys’ have said that beginning Monday September 8 when schools reopened for the 2025/2026 academic year, the two regions will be on a complete lockdown until the election in October,” taxi man and Catholic Christian, Ernest Shu Tegha told Crux.

“How do I survive for over a month if I cannot work,” he said.

Catholic bishops in the two regions have continued to plead with the separatists to allow kids back in school.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya told Crux that “it is unethical for Children to be used as a weapon of war.”

“We continue to plead that our children should be allowed to go back to school,” he said. Government officials have also been front and center in the effort to get kids back to school in the two regions.

“It is the right of every child to be educated; to have free, equitable and inclusive education,” said Dr. Asheri Kilo, the Secretary of State for Basic Education, in an interview of the Cameroon state broadcaster, CRTV.

“Why would anybody want to stop that,” she asked.

For some time, there had been an uneasy calm in both regions. In an exclusive interview on local Television channel, Equinox, Nkea said “a bit of social life has been returning to Bamenda.”

The archbishop said four years ago, the streets went quiet before 6 Pm every day. Today however, “you can see people drinking right up to ten PM. People are now free to organize funerals and weddings,” he said, but warned that such moments should not be confused with a return to peace.

“The situation is still very volatile,” Nkea said.

“I have made this distinction before. The fact that people are coming back, the fact that shops are opening more and more, the fact that people are beginning to celebrate funerals, more marriages openly and go right into the night does not explain the end of the crisis,” he explained.

“It is simply telling us that either people are getting used to the crisis or there is an uneasy detente. There’s an uneasy calm and we don’t know what can happen at any time. Let us not be deceived by social life returning to our communities and interpret that as the end of the crisis,” the archbishop added.

That warning is now materializing with the current lockdowns.

Source: Crux

Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda in Cameroon’s North West region says priests serving in the war-ravaged English-speaking regions of Cameroon “are ready to die for the Gospel.”

Nkea was speaking to Crux on the sidelines of the 78th Ordinary Meeting of Bishops of the Bamenda Episcopal Conference that took place in Bamenda from Aug. 16-22.

The Archdiocese of Bamenda oversees the suffragan dioceses of Buea, Mamfe, Kumba, and Kumbo and covers the entire English-speaking regions of Cameroon, areas devastated by nearly nine years of ongoing conflict.

The conflict stems from the complex colonial legacy and post-independence political arrangements in the country.

Following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the German colony of Kamerun was partitioned under League of Nations mandates, with France administering the larger eastern section and Britain governing two smaller non-contiguous areas – Northern and Southern Cameroons – adjacent to Nigeria.

In 1961, a UN-sponsored plebiscite resulted in the reunification of the British Southern Cameroons with the former French territory to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon.

The federal structure was dismantled in 1972 following a controversial referendum in favor of a centralized unitary state dominated by a Francophone majority government.

This centralization led to decades of perceived marginalization among Anglophones, which make up roughly 20 percent of the population, who felt their distinct legal and educational systems based on British common law, cultural identity, and political participation were eroded.

Resentment festered over the systematic appointment of Francophones to key positions in Anglophone regions, the exploitation of their rich natural resources, and the perceived imposition of French language and practices in Anglo-Saxon schools and courts.

The pent-up frustrations erupted into large-scale protests in 2016 led by lawyers and teachers demanding reforms.

The government took a hardline, ultimately escalating the crisis into a violent armed conflict with separatist groups declaring independence for the self-proclaimed republic of “Ambazonia.”

The conflict has led to at least 6,500 deaths, according to the International Crisis Group. Nearly a million people have been forced to flee from their homes, with over 70,000 people seeking refuge in Nigeria.

The conflict has also made investments in infrastructure difficult, worsening an already dilapidated road network.

Nkea told Crux that amid the conflict and the social difficulties, Catholic priests and Bishops in the region have kept faith with their mission of spreading The Good News.

“Priests have given their lives for the faith. They are ready to die for the gospel, and therefore, where there is a Christian, there is a priest,” the archbishop told Crux.

“The priests are determined, and we have very heroic priests and nuns who are running hospitals, running health centers, schools and other social services,” he said.

The archbishop noted that while conflict and inaccessibility present real challenges, they are external to the core mission of the Church.

“Those two problems are not problems of evangelization. They are social problems, but they don’t touch our spreading the gospel,” he told Crux.

“Personally, when traveling to areas inaccessible by car, I park the vehicle and continue by bike. For places even bicycles cannot reach, we proceed on foot. We see videos and accounts of priests and bishops walking great distances to connect with their communities. I want to emphasize that these transportation challenges are social problems, not obstacles to evangelization itself,” the archbishop explained.

“Wherever there is a Christian, we make every effort to reach them,” he said, emphasizing the determination of the clerics and religious in the two regions to leave no believer “without spiritual support,” regardless of their location or the challenges involved in reaching them.

Youth education and economic empowerment

The bishops during their meeting also addressed what Nkea called the “desperate situation” of unemployed youth amid the socio-political turmoil, and said the Church was revolutionizing education access to ensure that no youth is left behind.

He said this is done not only by making sure that schools are open, but through the establishment of diocesan-wide Education Funds.

These funds, supported by benefactors and friends of the dioceses, specifically target underprivileged children who cannot afford school fees, as exemplified by the Archbishop’s Education Fund in Bamenda covering costs for students in places like Mbesa.

“If you go to St. Agnes School Mbesa, there is an archbishop’s batch there. And from the first year…and they are now in their fourth year, the archbishop pays a percentage of their school fees every year just to ensure that these children have the opportunity to go to school,” Nkea said.

Recognizing the limitations of purely general education, the bishops have also emphasized a strategic pivot towards technical and professional training. They are adding technical sections to existing colleges and developing vocational training centers across dioceses, aiming to equip those who dropped out due to the crisis or other reasons with practical skills for self-reliance and establishment in life.

The bishops toured the sprawling campus of the Catholic University of Cameroon (CATUC) in Bamenda, to assess its significant infrastructure modernization.

Nkea said it has been equipped with WiFi-connected classrooms, large digital screens enabling international lectures, like recent medical training from Dallas, and new facilities designed to ensure competitiveness and sustainability.

These upgrades, he said, are essential to accommodate rapid growth and position CATUC for the future in the digital age.

Justice and peace in an election year

The bishops during their meeting also prioritized the critical issue of justice and peace, acknowledging its significance, especially in a year in which some 8.2 million Cameroonians are expected to vote for a president.

Drawing inspiration from the National Episcopal Conference, they resolved to actively engage in the upcoming presidential and other elections.

“We are going to deploy election observers in all the polling stations in our ecclesiastical province to have a feel of what Cameroonians will go through in these elections and be able to make an evaluation after,” Nkea told Crux.

He urged Cameroonians to foster a sense of peace before, during and after the elections, noting that he has witnessed too much death and devastation in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions and it won’t be a good thing that “our country witnesses such devastation again.”

Source: Crux