The announcement of the Holy Father’s decision was read on Friday, 13 February 2026, by His Grace Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Bamenda Archdiocese.

Archbishop Nkea made the announcement at the St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda before a crowd of faithful. This appointment by Pope Leo XIV is a form of recognition for Father John Berinyuy.

In November 2025, Father John Berinyuy Tatah was kidnapped in the district of Ndop, in the North-West region. He was released a few days later after the expiry of the ultimatum set by Archbishop Andrew Nkea, who had warned that Catholic institutions in the area would be closed if the priest remained in captivity beyond 26 November. The Archdiocese had also planned a peaceful march to demand his release.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Fon Lawrence

Cameroon’s possible inclusion in the itinerary of Pope Leo XIV’s first African trip is drawing growing debate, as security concerns, political tensions and moral objections raise questions about whether the country is ready for a papal visit. While Cameroon has been rumored as a potential stop, no visit has been confirmed, even as Leo has accepted invitations to Equatorial Guinea and Angola, with Algeria being a desired stop as well.

Cameroon’s leading political scientist and expert on security, Kinang Derick, suggested that the nation is simply not yet prepared to host the pontiff safely. In a conversation with OSV News, the scholar said that the immense strain on Cameroon’s security infrastructure, following the contested Oct. 12, 2025, presidential election, could be a major stumbling block.

“Cameroon is just coming out from an electoral year in which a lot of resources have been used to ensure the security of the electoral process,” Derick told OSV News.

“The government might have not recovered sufficiently enough to still have what it takes to put the necessary resources to ensure the pope’s security,” he explained.

Leo’s first trip to Africa as pontiff has had some locations confirmed, with the of Equatorial Guinea being the latest confirmed stop. A series of recent announcements by bishops in Angola and Algeria have indicated that Leo will embark on trips to their respective countries this year.

Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco of Algiers told journalists outside the Paul VI audience hall Jan. 8 that he discussed the possibility of a trip with the pope during the extraordinary consistory and that the visit was “on track.”

On Jan. 13, Angola was announced as another destination that Leo intends to visit this year. At a press conference in Luanda, Polish Archbishop Kryspin Witold Dubiel, apostolic nuncio to Angola, announced that the pope had accepted the invitation from Church and government officials to visit.

While Cameroon was for weeks rumoured as a possible destination, Derick told OSV News the nation’s security forces, both materially and in terms of manpower, are exhausted, compounded by ongoing instability in the two English-speaking regions, as well as Boko Haram incursions in the country’s far-northern region.

Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions have been gripped by separatist violence since 2017, when the government took a hard line following strikes by Anglophone teachers and lawyers.

The expert noted that the severe insecurity in these regions makes a papal trip “logistically and practically impossible at this time.”

He also touched on general infrastructural decay, citing poor road networks and inadequate health facilities in major cities as issues that must be addressed before Cameroon hosts the pontiff.

“You don’t certainly want the pope to move on bumpy roads, or to land on outdated airstrips,” Derick noted.

While a papal visit would certainly be good for strengthening the faiths of Cameroon’s Catholics, estimated at 38.3% of the country’s 30.1 million inhabitants, the government also views such a visit as a critical piece of diplomatic victory — one that would boost Cameroon’s battered image abroad.

The country has been the object of increasing international criticism as a result of gross human rights violations. According to Amnesty International, people critical of the regime face persecution and are threatened with restrictions on their right to freedom of movement. Journalists are intimidated by security forces.

The country’s image was further dented by the Oct. 12, 2025, presidential election. President Paul Biya, in power for 43 years, was declared the winner, extending his rule by another seven years. The main opposition leader, Issa Tchiroma, rejected the results and has since continued to claim that he is the duly elected president.

Furthermore, a prominent Cameroonian Jesuit priest and scholar has publicly urged the pontiff not to visit the West African country, warning that such a visit could be an endorsement of a regime whose legitimacy has been shattered by a recent “grave political and moral crisis.”

In an open letter addressed to the Holy Father, Fr. Ludovic Lado recalled that the latest election was “marred by massive fraud” to ensure the continued rule of 92-year-old Biya. The contested results, he argued, have triggered a painful post-electoral crisis marked by violence, deaths and severe repression.

“The dozens of victims counted were killed by bullets fired at unarmed civilians by an army that has become a militia under the control of one man,” Lado wrote in his letter to the pontiff, adding that the situation in the country is “tragically demonstrating the lack of regard for the dignity of human life in our country, especially that of the poorest.”

Lado argued that a papal visit would betray the pope’s core preference for helping the poor, and instead provide a platform for “an aging elite” — living in “comfort and luxury, almost in another world compared to ordinary people” — clinging to power.

He feared the trip would be instrumentalized by “illegitimate government seeking respectability.”

In a dramatic appeal, the Jesuit priest said, “the hands of the members of Paul Biya’s regime that You will be shaking during Your visit to Cameroon, like those of Herod and Pilate, are stained with the blood of poor Cameroonians, victims of political repression.”

He also highlighted the unresolved Anglophone crisis that killed at least 6,500 people over the last decade.

Instead of a pastoral visit, Lado suggested the Holy See could play a crucial role as a mediator for peace, proposing Vatican support for an initiative led by the Italian Community of Sant’Egidio to help the nation find a path out of its “historical impasse.”

A papal visit should only take place when Cameroon regains “a climate of justice, peace and reconciliation, with legitimate authorities,” he concluded.

Political analyst Derick, however, disagreed that the papal visit could be seen as an endorsement of the political power in the country, and he framed the pope’s potential mission as one of pastoral care and pacification.

“It will not be an endorsement of the present regime. It will be more of a visit to a suffering people, a visit to a category of faithful within the Roman Catholic Church that are in need of their spiritual father to come and tap them on the back and to make them understand all is well, that God has not forgotten Cameroonians,” he told OSV News.

He drew parallels to other international journeys carried out by late Pope Francis, when he visited crisis zones like Congo and the Central African Republic, noting that the pontiff historically travels to places of turmoil to bring hope and advocate for peace, not to validate political leadership.

If the Cameroon leg of the tour is finalized, Leo would become the third pontiff to visit the central African nation, following Pope St. John Paul II in August 1985 and Pope Benedict XVI in March 2009 — all under the same Cameroonian ruler.

Culled from National Catholic Reporter

Twenty-nine inmates from the Buea Central Prison in Cameroon regained their freedom Tuesday following the intervention of Bishop Michael Bibi of Buea, through the Justice and Peace Commission.

The Church achieved the feat by paying off fines for prisoners who had completed their sentences but lacked the financial means to secure their own release.

As the 29 prisoners regained their freedom, they actually burst into song.

“Our Bishop, we say thank you! Our Bishop, we say thank you!” they sang.

As the freed inmates emerged, they shared stories of relief and renewed hope. One former inmate, who identified himself as an ice cream vendor named Elake Mbua, recounted a family dispute over property that finally landed him in prison.

“I’m thanking the Roman Catholic Church for intervening for me. If not of the bishop, I don’t know for how much longer I’d remain in jail. I say thank you,” he said.

Another freed man, Clovis Fuh, who had been incarcerated for a year, simply beamed.

“Today is the happiest day in my life,” he said.

“My father [meaning Bishop Bibi} and the Catholic Church have done something that I will never ever forget in my life,” Fuh told Crux.

Bibi, accompanied by the Director of the Justice and Peace Commission, Joyce Mbong, and diocesan priests, personally oversaw the release. The bishop explained that this act of mercy is a longstanding tradition for the diocese, fueled by the generosity of priests, religious, and lay faithful.

“It has been a tradition that I, together with my priests, the religious and the Christians of the diocese … struggle to see what we can do in order to get them out of prisons,” Bibi stated.

“I’m happy today that the work that the Justice and Peace Office has carried out has made it possible for us to release these prisoners… This is the first set we are doing. We will work again and get another list,” Bibi said.

The bishop’s involvement with the Buea Central Prison extends far beyond Tuesday’s event, according to Prison Administrator, Donatus Ntemgwa. He said the release of the 29 inmates has scaled down overcrowding in the prison.

“He has also promised us to do post-detention care… since he has promised us to follow up these inmates after their release, so we are very, very happy,” the prison administrator told journalists.

However, Bibi cautioned the newly freed individuals, urging them to make a clean break from their past.

“The prison is not their home,” the bishop stated.

“They came here because they did something that was not proper. Some came here because of misjudgments … they should go and not come back, because some of them have gone and come back once, twice, thrice,” the bishop said.

To ensure they don’t return, the Justice and Peace Commission is implementing a comprehensive reintegration plan. Mbong outlined a multi-faceted approach to the social and economic reintegration of the ex-prisoners.

“As of today, we are going to get a database of those who have skills and their talents,” the commissioner told Crux.

“Some have already expressed the need to want to continue on skills training or to continue education. So we still have to look for resources to be able to support them,” she explained.

She said the commission “will maintain contact with the former inmates, assist with family reconciliation in cases where needed, and help them find productive work.”

One freed prisoner, a former hairdresser, said that she will “start from where I stopped.”

The Church officials pledged to help secure essential documents for those who lack them, such as birth certificates and national identity cards.

Mbong made a direct appeal to the public for support, given the costs involved.

“We cannot do all at a time, and I want to use this forum to appeal to those who can and have the resources to support the Justice and Peace Office in this mission of preparing these inmates and also facilitating their reintegration into society,” she said.

For the 29 prisoners who walked through the prison gate into freedom, the journey to a new life has just begun, with the Diocese of Buea pledging to walk alongside them every step of the way.

Source: Crux

Father John Berinyuy Tatah, parish priest in Babessi, who was abducted on November 15 along with his vicar in southwestern Cameroon, has been freed.

His release on December 2 came a few days after the deadline set by Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda, who had threatened to close Catholic institutions in the region if the priest was not released by November 26.

Last week, the archdiocese organized a peaceful march to demand his release.

Father John and his vicar were abducted on November 15 on their way home from Mass for the inauguration of the PAX Institute at the University of Ndop.

According to Archbishop Fuanya, the two priests were captured in Baba I (a village about 60 km from the town of Bamenda, on the Bamenda-Nkambe ring road, near the town of Babessi) by armed men claiming to be separatist fighters from Ambazonia and taken to an unknown location.

On November 18, four priests and a layman were also captured; they were supposed to negotiate the release of the two priests. The vicar, the four other priests, and the layman were released on November 20, while Father John remained in the hands of his captors.

The circumstances of the priest’s release have not been disclosed. Meanwhile, the Ambazonian rebels who had captured him posted a video on Facebook in which Father John called for dialogue to resolve the crisis in the English-speaking region.

Source: fides.org

Catholic leaders in Cameroon’s restive North-West region have issued a scathing condemnation of the recent kidnapping of priests, stating that the targeting of religious figures is a clear sign that the separatist struggle has “lost focus” and devolved into pure criminality.

Their remarks follow the abduction of six priests and one member of the laity from the Archdiocese of Bamenda.

According to a release signed by the Archbishop of Bamenda, Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya, gunmen abducted Father John Berinyuy Tatah, the parish priest of Babessi, and his assistant on Nov. 15, as they returned from the Mass inaugurating the PAX University Institute in Ndop.

On Nov. 18, four priests and one lay person went to negotiate with the gunmen for the release of the two priests but were also taken captive. While the group was later released, Tatah remains in captivity, with his captors demanding a ransom.

In a Nov. 23 release, Nkea declared the Church will not pay the ransom, setting a Wednesday deadline for the captors to free the priest. He warned that if the deadline passes, all Catholic institutions in the Ndop Deanery will be closed and religious personnel will withdraw.

“The frequent kidnapping of our priests and mission personnel has pushed us to the wall and we say that this should stop with immediate effect,” he added, noting that many lay Christians have also been tortured or killed.

The recent kidnappings are the latest crimes in the separatist conflict that has rocked Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West regions for nine years.

The crisis stems from the 1961 reunification of the former French and British Cameroons, creating a bilingual state where the English-speaking minority has long felt marginalized by the Francophone-dominated central government.

Tensions over the perceived erosion of the common law legal system and English-language education practiced in the English-speaking regions boiled over in 2016, leading to peaceful protests that were met with a harsh security crackdown. This response radicalized many in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, sparking an armed insurgency for an independent state called “Ambazonia.”

But what began as a genuine fight for identity has degenerated into criminality, Church leaders argue, and the kidnapping of priests is a testament to this decline.

“The focus has been lost because we cannot be fighting the church, a moral institution and its authority,” said Edith Tanyi, National President of the Catholic Women’s Association (CWA), expressing the disgust and frustration felt by many faithful.

Valentine Tameh, an executive member of the Catholic Men Association in the Bamenda archdiocese, questioned the spiritual legitimacy of a movement that attacks men of God.

“We have heard over and over that the struggle is God-ordained. But when such things begin to happen, then you ask, how can it be God-ordained when priests, pastors, bishops are being kidnapped?” he told Crux.

Tameh argued the conflict has shed any pretense of being a political movement.

“These kidnappings tell me that the ongoing struggle is not a rational struggle any longer,” he asserted. “I think I will not hesitate to call this criminality now… what progress has those huge, extorted sums brought to the people? Nothing at all. So, it’s more or less criminality now,” he said.

Pricillia Agendia, Director of Communication for the Archdiocese, highlighted the demoralizing effect on the community, noting that priests are now targeted “on average, weekly.” She warned that such tactics are undermining the separatists’ cause by alienating potential sympathizers.

“The kidnappings are not helping in any way in resolving the crisis because kidnappings are sending the wrong message about a crisis that drew sympathy at the beginning,” she told Crux.

In his release, Nkea also urged the military to be more professional and ethical—a veiled reference to abuses also committed by security forces. He called on all stakeholders “to do everything within their powers to dialogue and bring this crisis to an end.”

“The people of the North West and South West regions have suffered enough and they deserve to have a quiet life,” the archbishop said.

Source: Crux