My fellow Presbyterians of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon ( PCC) ,

“Fear Not for I am with thee” Isaiah 41: 10

“Do not be afraid” Jeremiah 1: 8

Moderator Fonki Samuel and his gang inside the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon ( PCC) have deformed the church and transformed it into a dent of thieves. They have no mercy ,no compassion and no care at all but I say to all of you  fear not!

These are Pastors who have declared war against Widows, Primary School Teachers, Senior Citizens and Children living in poverty and oppression. Their cries for mercy and compassion felt on deaf ears over the years. The outcome has been violence- war and killings of people under the watch of Rev Fonki Samuel and his Synod Executive Committee.  “It shall not be so amongst you.”

Still I am delighted to write to all of you to encourage one another during this long journey to defend the PCC and uphold the “Presbyterian belief” which by all account was inspired by the theology of John Calvin based on the biblical covenant of faith in Jesus Christ.

The pride and image of a Presbyterian Christian is determined by their understanding of grace, faith, justification/ sanctification, social justice and salvation through Jesus Christ per the theology of John Calvin.

In 2 Corinthians 5: 19, God is in Jesus Christ reconciling the world to Himself and caring for those in need Matthew 25: 35- 45. God was not in Christ persecuting and exploiting Christians and marginalizing.

Therefore, any church or Pastor who persecutes God’s people does not belong to the covenant of faith. These are the types to be purged from the Church. It should not be the other way around.  There comes a time when we have to stop wickedness and evil because it is incumbent upon us.

As Christ followers ,  ✝️ we must sing this song ” Onwards Christian Soldiers  marching as to war with the cross of Jesus going on before.”

Many of you Elders, Teachers and Widows and Pastors have cried  out  to me to help advocate for the powerless( Teachers, widows, children and Seniors) all of whom are being scammed by the PCC authorities under the Hitler of the Presbyterian Church,  Moderator Rev Fonki Samuel.

This time will be very different than 24 years ago. Let me put things into proper perspective  so that  everyone can  see where they belong even if that is against their will. Many of you who are familiar with my “craziness” know when God calls me to act , I never say NO.

I am fully aware that the PCC is divided into two camps and these divisions are nourished by a carefully crafted propaganda machine of lies, manipulation and persecution of innocent Presbyterians. These two camps are as follows ;

1. Presbyterians who are loyal to Moderator Fonki Samuel Forba orchestrated by a greedy  business- minded  Synod Executive  secretly  privatizing the PCC and profiting off the sweat and tears of mothers ,children and teachers.

2. Presbyterians who are loyal to  Jesus Christ and the authoritative  word of God as reflected by the theology of John Calvin. These Presbyterians see the PCC as a community of faithful stakeholders saved by Grace and justified by faith.

So I already  know that I am speaking to two categories of Presbyterians here because whatever the Fonki loyalists are doing ,  it is important they realize that  we know what has been going on  since  he began his theology of deformation of the PCC .

I will not repeat myself because I have spoken for the powerless  Presbyterians Moderator Fonki Samuel has intentionally trampled upon and discarded them by his own  ruthless  and  insensitive corrupt policies of marginalization

I have watched Moderator Fonki minister only to his loyalists, rewarded them and covered up for them even when they were damn wrong. I have seen it all.

He had only one objective to deal only with a select few who would allow him to have access to money at will without transparency and accountability.

Therefore, his trips overseas was designed to promote Fonki and build an empire for himself, his family, friends  and his loyalists at home and abroad. He has never been out to promote Presbyterians and enhance the dignity of all Presbyterians. No effort is even met to help.

Moderator Fonki Samuel and his loyalists have become the wealthy Presbyterians overnight moving rapidly from rags into riches since they deformed responsible Christian stewardship into Fonki plundering machine (stealing, theft and embezzlement).

I do not anticipate Fonki’s loyalists to insult us  as usual telling us  to toe the line or leave . I hope that we do not have to endure one more insult again because the times have changed.  Jeremiah exalts us to uproot evil if necessary.

The reign of tyranny in the PCC perpetuated by Moderator Rev Fonki Samuel is compounded by the reign of terror Presbyterians and co have endured with the exception of the few loyalists.

So how do we preserve the PCC and stop Moderator Rev Fonki Samuel and his gang? I have some ideas to propose to all responsible Presbyterians in my next edition.

Also all concerned Presbyterians are free to send me your ideas on how we should move forward. You can email or contact me on whatsup. I want to assure you that your name will be kept private because  the Hitler of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon drunk with greed ,power and wicked  is dangerous and we will not allow them to  hurt  or destroy  the lives of more Presbyterians. However,  do not be afraid to send any information that will help  me to go after them  here in the USA.

This is my contact

Brother Jonathan Awasom

 Email : Jonathan_light2000@yahoo.com

Whatsup number  12018785829

Facebook: Jonathan Awasom

Jeremiah  1 : 1- 19

Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue  you,” declares the Lord.

9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched  my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.10 See, today I appoint you over nations  and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” 

God bless you all. 

From:  Brother Jonathan Fru Awasom ( JAF)

To: Rev. Fonki Samuel Forba, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon,

Subject:  Why have you forsaken the Truth?

Dear Rev Fonki Samuel,

In keeping with 1 Timothy 3,I bring greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ and for the sake of the founding generation of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC).

According to 1 John 2: 21 ” I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth”.

We have known ourselves far back when I was a youth Pastor like yourself some 22 yearsago. You will neither be reading from me for the first time nor foreign to where I stand about corruption in Presbyterian Church in Cameroon and PCC- USA. It is obvious to me that you, your wife and cronies are determined to ruin the PCC taking advantage of the corrupt political regime that has failed to hold corrupt Anglophone leaders accountable thereby enabling the current Anglophone violent conflict.

Instead of being a prophetic voice and the conscience of the state during these tough times in Cameroon, you have become more like the state exploiting God’s people and enabling all the atrocities of the Cameroon regime against the downtrodden, majority of whom are children and women internally displaced and suffering in the bushes and crowded cities across the country. All you care is to gather some of them to exploit.

I am sick to my stomach about how you have become a pestering sore to the church and Christians. Since you were selected by your predecessors to replace them as the next Moderator, your reign has been rat-infested by theft of church funds, accusations of abuse of power, gross violation of the Constitution of the PCC, distortion and tampering with the Constitution to suit you and your cohorts at home and here in the USA.

I have also read articles widely circulated calling upon you to account for private business investments you have carried out while in Office as the Moderator (President of the PCC) whereby you have hijacked the office of the Moderator to hold shares in private businesses using church funds to invest in your name and family members as though PCC is your private owned company.

You have been accused of bullying Pastors and Christians who question your motives when convinced beyond any reasonable doubts that your conduct was/is not in alignment with the execution of your office as Moderator (First amongst Equals). For instance, you were accused of indulging with a war of words with a community of Presbyterian Christians in locations here in the United States to the extent which your actions split the Church. It is alleged that a small group of people loyal to you decided to site with you while majority broke away. I have to wonder what PCC is doing in the United States?

In Cameroon, your propensity to divide and conquer is alarming with detail reports about perpetual conflicts and animosity under your watch and even so orchestrated by your corrupt leadership style. I have been deeply troubled by your corrupt activities within the PCC Community and wanted to address these issues directly with you because they are very serious. The Cameroon Intelligence Report captioned

“PCC Cameroon under Rev Fonki: Corruption runs rampant. Who should we hold responsible? – Cameroon Intelligence Report” is just one of the numerous publications x-raying the culture of corruption you have masterminded in the PCC since you became Moderator.

Therefore, I urge you to give me your undivided attention and to consider my letter to you and your entire body of Synod Executives and Synod of the PCC as an appeal to be mindful of these concerns because enough is enough, Rev Fonki Samuel. We cannot be anymore silent and allow you to continue scamming and exploiting Presbyterians.

Whereas “Moderator” the English Dictionary definition states that he or she a mediator and of course “in the Presbyterian church, the officer who presides over a synod or general assembly”

Whereas as Pastor you are expected to serve and tender “God’s people ” consistent with the calling and mission to reflect the mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation and compassion of Jesus Christ

Whereas the church once “reformed is always reforming”

Whereas no Moderator or any other Synod Executives own the PCC except to be guardians and custodians under appropriate biblical standards in the light of John 15, the Constitution, Book of Order and Confession, and in accordance with governing laws of the State

Whereas your prophetic role in the State can only be effective if you are free from the ills of corruption, fraud, embezzlement and in all dictatorship perpetrated by the state

Whereas you are “First amongst Equals, which does not make you above reproach and accountability or any lesser or greater than your fellow Presbyterians

Whereas the PCC is a church of Presbyters and not a church of individuals loyal to Rev Fonki Samuel,

Whereas it is imperative that the global evangelical and missionary focus of Presbyterianism does NOT discriminate on people based on race and culture with respect to the liturgical application of worship geographically and culturally

Whereas the modus operandi of mission is to foster partnership, diversity and inclusion when spreading the gospel

Whereas Christian discipleship and Financial stewardship go hand – in – hand, I will like to call upon you and your entire leadership at the Synod Office levels of the PCC to account for the following;

1. You, the Rev Fonki Samuel and all Synod Officers serving in high ranking positions shall declare your assets including your bank accounts and investments in Cameroon and abroad including businesses where you are shareholders

2. The Rev Fonki Samuel and the Financial Department shall publish the Financial statements of the PCC including sources of income grants, donations, church contribution etc and expenditures on Salaries of Church workers, projects and charity

3. The Rev Fonki Samuel shall give a detail account of his standing with the PCC USA 🇺🇸 with respect to accusations published against him. Mindful of the non- profit tax exemption of the PCC-USA,  I reserve the absolute right to file a complaint to USA authorities against the lack of financial transparency and accountability during the reign of you, the  Rev Fonki Samuel from 2014 – 2022 marked by a culture of theft of church funds to enrich yourselves.

4. The Rev Fonki Samuel shall explain the reasons behind his suspicious tampering of the Constitution of the PCC . Perhaps by your own tyrannical actions the PCC does not need to be taken back into the dark ages of corrupt tyranny

We will not lie low to watch you and your gang ruin the church our forefathers and parents have built with faith, sacrifice, humility, grace, mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation and love. These sacred Christians values embodied by Jesus Christ are not part of the vocabulary of PCC leadership.

You may boast of your flamboyant unholy alliance with corrupt politicians in Cameroon to oppress and exploit God’s people to enrich yourselves.  That practice ends effective immediately. 

Rev Fonki Samuel if your sole purpose is to change the Constitution of the PCC in order to appoint your wifethe Moderator in the same manner you were appointed, so be it but should that not behappening in your own private church in Akwaya or somewhere else.? So long as this is the PCC you shall not oppress and exploit God’s people for so long. It ends effective immediately as appropriate steps are underway to ensure that someone more powerful than you and your regime will end your evil and wickedness against God’s people in Cameroon

Every project you have carried out in the name of PCC is only done so as a calculated means to embezzle most of the money. Why do you close primary schools, unable to pay the salaries of teachers, some who taught you in primary school, yet you are able to increase your salaries in the Synod Office without taking into consideration the plight of others?

That explains why you are now living at large while thousands of children are living in abject poverty around the country due to violent conflict and warfare. It is better for you to resign now from that office   in keeping with the laws that govern your activities here in the USA. Rev Fonki Samuel I cannot imagine that you are so inconsiderate to the pain and suffering of children and families to the point where you shut down primary school in the 21st century. You increased your salary from Moderator to CEO. Let me ask you a simple question? Are you the one who owns the PCC? If you are the CEO of PCC then be prepared to come to court in the USA because you will have to account to this country.   If you insist I will file a complaint against you and against all PCC churches in the USA. Your conduct is despicable and unacceptable.

Finally,  it is important that the Presbyterian Church In Cameroon and PCC-USA be brought to her traditional and historical context as the basis for the present day mission and evangelism by upholding the sacredness of Presbyterian beliefs in the light of   Holy Scriptures.  This is well articulated by this statement and since you are not complying with this Presbyterian belief, please , leave  the PCC .

“Some of the principles articulated by John Calvin are still at the core of Presbyterian beliefs. Among these are the sovereignty of God, the authority of Scripture, justification by grace through faith and the priesthood of all believers. What these tenets mean is that God is the supreme authority throughout the universe. Our knowledge of God and God’s purpose for humanity comes from the Bible, particularly what is revealed in the New Testament through the life of Jesus Christ. Our salvation (justification) through Jesus is God’s generous gift to us and not the result of our own accomplishments. It is everyone’s job — ministers and lay people alike — to share this Good News with the whole world. That is also why the Presbyterian church is governed at all levels by a combination of clergy and laity, men and women alike.”

Thank you for your cooperation and thoughtfulness to these issues.

Yours truly in Jesus Christ,

Bother Jonathan Fru Awasom

Jonathan_light2000@yahoo.com

Phone: 201-878-5829

CC All Pastors, Elders, Deacons and Christians of the PCC

       PC (USA)

       United States Authoritiesin Cameroon and USA

       Cameroon Authorities in the United States

       All persons of interest in the PCC

In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 31 vs 29, Moses, the servant of the Lord, said, “I know that after my death, you will become utterly corrupt and will turn from the way I have commanded you to follow. In the days to come, disaster will come down on you, for you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, making him very angry with your actions.” And it has come to pass that the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) is living up to this prophecy.

Recent embarrassing protests by its congregants at the churches in Kumba Town and Nsimeyong, Yaoundé, prompted Cameroon Concord News Group to investigate the PCC’s activities. Over the last few weeks, we interviewed clerics, congregants and members of various committees in churches across the PCC communion.

Our detailed inquiry found that the Moderator (spiritual leader of the PCC), Rt Rev Forki Samuel Forba, is responsible for the PCC’s current chaos. We found a damning indictment of Rev Fonki’s character and leadership style. It is hard to find a reputable man or woman in the PCC who holds their Moderator with regard. We uncovered that his name conjures up worry and disgust, not adoration and holiness.

To begin, Rev Fonki Samuel Forba was an irrational choice as the PCC Moderator. During his campaign to lead the church and subsequent re-election in 2019, he ran a crusade of bribery, corruption and intimidation. Upon re-election, he organized parties where he celebrated lavishly with CPDM tendencies and danced like a seasoned Congolese band member.

Many who knew him after he was ordained as the PCC Moderator almost eight years ago muttered that he was a disaster waiting to happen, and he has confirmed those fears. A church member in Ekona opined that “I have known him for over 30 years, and many who have worked with him knew from the moment he was elected as the PCC moderator that his tenure would be a disaster, and we can all see it”. Many within the PCC say Rev Fonki is pompous, spiritually empty, possesses no integrity and doesn’t command the respect of the majority in the PCC he claims to lead.

Cameroon Concord News Group now understands that the shocking protests captured on video in PC Kumba Town are a consequence of Rev Fonki’s dubious direct actions. The pastor of PC Kumba Town is a certain Rev Mary Wose Nduma, who is notorious for being devoid of honesty and transcendence. PC Kumba Town congregants confided to this publication that the Chairwoman of their church had repeatedly impeded Rev Mary Wose’s attempts to loot church funds. This had led to both being on each others’ throats for months until things boiled over some weeks ago when church members carried out a mass demonstration calling for Rev Mary Wose to leave their church.

Speaking about Rev Mary Wose, one of her congregants said, “Everyone here knows that she has a less than holy relationship with the Moderator. It is shameful that they are involved in shady financial dealings. The Moderator brought her here because we are a big church, so she can abuse our funds, but that will not work. She has to go now.”

The situation in PC Kumba Town is now thorny. Members of this Church want Pastor Mary Wose gone, but she and her Moderator are not heeding the people’s requests and anger. Last week, the church members led a protest during a live sermon by Pastor Mary Wose. A pastor with godliness, ability and stature might have shrugged the protest off, but Rev Mary Wose is not that pastor. Her stubbornness and sense of entitlement have led her to this place of shame. She believes that her personal but unholy relationship with the Moderator will ultimately triumph, but she is about to discover that PC Kumba Town members mean business.

The incidents in Kumba Town seem to be playing out in PC Nsimeyong, Yaoundé also, where Rev Fonki has appointed a fellow sinful offender, Rev Emmanuel Masok. Rev Masok’s congregants say he is vulgar, violent, and a channel for fraudulent and unholy activities. Rev Masok’s case is a holy emergency that must be dealt with without delay as his congregants have prayed and fasted with no noticeable results. A member of PC Nsimeyong noted that “Rev Masok is an embarrassment. To say Masok is a pastor is an insult to that noble profession, and he is a shameless crook and womaniser.”

Talking to many within the PCC, the game is simple. Rev Fonki Samuel Forba appoints key allies to big churches, so he gets financial kickbacks from them. This is shameful and distasteful. Rev Fonki is a man ruled by the quest for primitive material consumption, and he owns many properties acquired from his proceeds of theft of Church funds. For a man of God, this is dishonorable, sinful and criminal.

Rev Fonki has appointed countless mediocrities to many top positions in the church. His appointees, like him, have no fear of God in them and thrive on deception and theft of Church money. The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon is now at the mercy of Rev Fonki’s reckless quest for indulgence.

The many mediocrities that Rev Fonki has airlifted to senior positions in the Presbyterian Synod and several presbyteries are not there for their creative talents and godly powers but for their talent to aid and abet his criminal and satanic endeavours. These co-criminals will not tell him to go or persuade him to discontinue his disgraceful proclivities because they only have their positions for as long as he hangs on to his.

The primary reason his continued stay in office as Moderator is because of corrupt, lazy and intellectually questionable PCC Synod. Rev Fonki has installed his close lieutenants in the Synod; they are nothing more than hand clappers and are too cowardly to move against a disgraced and outrageous Moderator.

Time is the most precious commodity if the Presbyterian Church is to survive in its current format and structure. Members of the Presbyterian Communion can mobilize supporters, sympathizers and genuine Christians that may end Rev Fonki’s reign of terror, theft, and criminality. But they need to be bold.

Everyday Rev Fonki remains in power; a long, sharp, sturdy nail is driven into the coffin of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon. He has presided over eight turbulent years, during which the number of active Christians in the PCC is declining alarmingly. And this doesn’t seem to bother him.

PCC members must know that Rev Fonki has no interest in spirituality, honesty and the growth of their church, and he is only interested in growing his wealth and that of his friends within the church. And protests should be a new norm in all churches to force him and his co-criminals out of their church.

By Isong Asu

Cameroon Concord News Group Senior Political Researcher

In part 2 of this series, Cameroon Concord will look at Rev Fonki’s choice of PCC Communication Secretary and his plans to ensure his legacy of harm and criminality continues after he leaves office in 2024.

Fonki Samuel, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, should be tried by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

The Francophone dominated Biya regime in Yaoundé and other Southern Cameroons stake holders should charge Moderator Fonki Samuel with crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.  The Ambazonia Interim Government, after charges are filed, could arrange for the arrest of Moderator Fonki by Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces.

The Ambazonia Interim Government should not take the law into its own hands and unilaterally arrest Moderator Fonki Samuel.  The IG should support the rule of law in Southern Cameroons and see to it that Rev Fonki is charged, arrested and convicted of crimes against humanity for putting the Messaga Ekol and Oliti people of Akwaya Subdivision, Manyu Division at each other’s throat.

Moderator Fonki Samuel comes from a migrant community that moved from the North West and settled in Akwaya Sub Division in Manyu. Two generations successfully amalgamated into what we know today as the Messaga Ekol clan deep within the ancestral home of the Oliti people. The quest for rich farm lands has always placed the Messaga Ekol and the Oliti communities at daggers-drawn positions.

Events recently took a dramatic u-turn following the emergence of a migrant son as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon-and the Messaga Ekol people now have a voice and a powerful religious figure who can make their case heard in Yaoundé and even beyond. His recent press release on the massacre in Akwaya tells it all!!

Moderator Fonki personally signed the communiqué detailing what happened in Akwaya without the consent of the Divisional Officer and the Roman Catholic establishment that virtually controls the majority of the Christian family population in Akwaya Sub Division. It is evidently clear from the press release that Moderator Fonki Samuel Forba (to use his three names) is a stake holder in the land dispute in Akwaya. In the moderator’s own account, “Over 30 people were killed including children, girls, men, women and old people. Some were beheaded. About 5 Nigerians were killed in this attack”.

The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.  The Court is located in Den Hague, Netherlands; The Office of the Prosecutor is responsible for conducting investigations and prosecutions. It is headed by the Chief Prosecutor.

According to Human Rights Watch,  “the ICC has one of the most extensive lists of due process guarantees ever written,” including “presumption of innocence; right to counsel ; right to present evidence and to confront witnesses; right to remain silent ; right to be present at trial; right to have charges proved beyond a reasonable doubt; and protection against double jeopardy.”

If Rev Fonki is arrested, there will be no vacuum in the Presbyterian Church.  It will instead present an opportunity to have a decent cleric to run the affairs of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The crisis in Cameroon which began five years ago between separatist forces and the government has plunged the English-speaking regions of the country into a deadly conflict that has claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions, destroyed properties and is creating a growing humanitarian crisis.

The immediate origins of the crisis stem from legal and educational grievances in 2016 which rapidly escalated into a secessionist political conflict with separatists calling for the creation of an independent state they call “Ambazonia.”

The violence has taken a heavy toll on the civilian populations in the Northwest and Southwest region of the nation, with attacks against schools, extrajudicial killings, kidnappings and a general sense of insecurity forcing millions of Cameroonians to flee to neighbouring countries. In all this, the Church has been vocal, calling for an end to the violence and for reconciliation between the sides in conflict.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea of Bamenda spoke to Vatican News on the sidelines of the 10th World Meeting of Families taking place in Rome, highlighting the Church’s role in the service of peace and dialogue in the country.

The people are most affected in the crisis

Archbishop Nkea notes that the Church’s major difficulty in its advocacy during the crisis is navigating “the thin line of neutrality” in the sense of not belonging to any side of the conflict between the government and the separatists, while trying to advocate for peace and reconciliation.

In fact, he explains, “sometimes the government thinks we are not condemning the separatists enough, and most of the time the separatists think that we are not taking a tough enough stance against the government.”

However, the Archbishop insists that the focus is “the People of God” – the suffering people, the students out of school and those who have been displaced by the conflict and forced to flee to neighbouring countries including Nigeria. For these people, he insists, “I am ready to give my life – not for separatists, not for the government!”

The Church in service of peace, dialogue

Since the start of the conflict, the Church has channeled her efforts towards restoring peace and reconciliation in the country, explains the Archbishop, who is also the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Cameroon.

These efforts have also been complemented with humanitarian assistance to those affected by the fighting, including medical care backed by aid from international organizations including the WHO and the UN refugee agency.

According to the UN, about 2 million people affected by the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon need humanitarian assistance and 1.4 million of the most vulnerable are targeted by humanitarian partners for assistance. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says over $139.9 is needed to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable and limited funding has been a major constraint in this regard.

The Archbishop further reiterates the Church’s conviction that “the only way to resolve the conflict in Cameroon is through dialogue” which the Church has been trying to facilitate between the separatists and the government, in spite of challenges.

“We focus on what is right and we go on with what is right even to the point of death. We will talk to both parties and make sure that at some point they are able to dialogue and bring this crisis to an end.”

Violence begets more violence

The crisis in the English-speaking regions has led to the deaths of more than 4,000 civilians and hundreds of members of security forces.

Archbishop Nkea strongly condemns the killings, stressing that we “cannot get peace and justice by killing each other.”

“Let us realize that we are not killing ourselves to arrive at good. We can only kill ourselves and arrive at more killing and more violence.”

Source: Vatican News

The Parishioners

Ste Anne, Salem MA

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

Dear Holy People of God,

 Appointment of Fr. Casmia Wiybirwo BELLO as Parish Priest of Ste. Anne’s Church, Salem MA

With great joy, I write to inform you that on Thursday, June 23, His Eminence, Sean Cardinal O’Malley, appointed Fr. Casmia W. Bello, priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mamfe, Cameroon, as parish priest of Ste. Anne Parish, Salem MA, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.

Fr. Casmia was born on February 14, 1981 in Nso, Bui Division of Cameroon. He did his Minor Seminary studies at St. Aloysius Minor Seminary Kitiwum, Kumbo. He went on to obtain a BA in Philosophy from St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, Bambui, Cameroon; a BSc in Economics from the University of Buea, Cameroon; and a BA in Theology from Blessed Iwene Tansi Major Seminary, Onitsha, Nigeria, graduating Summa Cum Laude.

Fr Casmia was ordained a priest on July 5th 2014 in Mamfe, Cameroon. After his ordination he served as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception parish Nguti, Cameroon; Parish Priest cum School Manager of Holy Eucharist parish Tinto, Cameroon (Sept. 2014 – Oct. 2016). From November 2016 to June 2020, he served as Parish Priest cum School Manager of Divine Mercy Parish Nkongle, and also Principal of John Paul II Secondary School, Nkongle, Cameroon.

In the Spring of 2020, Fr Casmia was missioned to Boston College by the Most Rev. Andrew F. Nkea, JCD, then Apostolic Administrator of Mamfe Diocese, for graduate studies. He obtained an MA in Leadership and Administration from Boston College in May 2022. While residing at Ste. Anne’s in the duration of his graduate studies, Fr Casmia has served as a Chaplain of the Catholic Women Association, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Branch, Boston, MA; Chaplain of the Precious Blood of Jesus Devotional Group, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston; and recently, Chaplain of the Jesus is Lord Catholic Charismatic Group, Ste. Anne Church.

On a personal note, I would say that it has been a privilege to count myself a friend of Fr. Casmia for over 22 years and counting. His humility; his deep faith in the living Lord; his love for our Blessed Mother Mary; his unassuming personality; his profound piety and deep love for the Church, hidden behind a shy demeanor, and more, in my opinion, make Fr. Casmia a great gift to you, the people of God of this beautiful and culturally diverse family of God that is Ste. Anne’s. Living with Fr. Casmia these two years here in Salem, I have found in him a dependable priest of God, someone you can count on as a spiritual leader. I firmly believe that in Fr. Casmia, you will find a pastor’s heart that will love you, willing to accompany you on the holy journey, sharing in your joys and crosses, in a spirit of great patience, for as Benedict XVI beautifully reminds us, the world is saved by God’s patience and destroyed by the impatience of men and women.

In Fr. Casmia, you will find a priest that will always be there for and with you. I think of Augustine of Hippo’s sermon on John 10: the shepherd, unlike the hireling and the brigand, never runs or shy away from the cross, precisely because what animates the shepherd is love for Christ, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the consciousness, as Pope St. Paul VI will write centuries letter in his August 1964 encyclical EcclesiamSuam, that the Church, the people of God, its human dimension notwithstanding, is a reality that came about thanks to the explicit will of Christ.Paul VI’s great and esteemed successor, Benedict XVI, will describe this reality of the Church as the will of Christ with the iconic phrase, “the Church, the story God himself has created.”And from my own limited experience of “daily becoming a Christian” (Kierkegaard), and a priest, I can say that to love Christ always comes with the reality of suffering, of the Cross. It was the French philosopher Blaise Pascal that captured this aspect when he declared this ageless axiom, “Christ is on the Cross, until the end of the world.”

Dear Holy People of God, this is my last formal communication with you. From Monday June 27, 2022, I will cease being the spiritual leader of this beautiful family. It has been a journey with great spiritual joys. I think of the little steps that together, with the living Jesus in our midst that we were able to initiate. Amongst others, the Year of the Bible comes to mind, which has led to our monthly Bible Study sessions, moderated by Professors from Boston College and St John’s Seminary, Boston; I think of the daily community Rosary prayers; I think of the Thursdays Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; I think of the new choirs, especially the Children’s choir; I think of the celebration of the 120th Anniversary of our parish; then we have our Men’s Faith Sharing Group; the Charismatic Group; the Precious Blood Group; the Book Club; the Pro-Life Group; the Prayer Ministry; the strengthening of the new communities, especially the welcoming of the Congolese Community into the parish; the strengthening of the Parish and Finance councils and the other new ministries. How can we not be grateful to the living Lord for our Advent and Lenten retreats, especially those on the “Our Father” and the “Mysteries of the Holy Mass”! And now, we are launching our parish Year of the Eucharist, which will be the task of Fr. Casmia to bring to completion, as part of our Five-Year Spiritual Development Plan, that together as a parish family, we launched in the Fall of 2019.

I also think of the complete renovation of our parish rectory; the heating and other repairs in our Church building; and now, the repairs of the parish center building which Fr. Casmia, by God’s grace, in a spirit of a hermeneutic of continuity, will have to bring to completion. I encourage especially the new communities of the parish to be especially generous to this effort. As I have often pointed out concerning fundraising, faith is free, but religion is very expensive. Over time, Fr. Casmia will need to raise half a million dollars to completely repair and modernize the parish center. And since the Church will be here until the Second Coming of Christ, we have to do our part to preserve the physical structures of the parish. We owe it to the next generation to preserve, as much as we humanly can, the structures that earlier generations have bequeathed to us. You will be supporting the ministry of Fr. Casmia if you make it a point of duty to contribute towards the repairs of the pastoral center, including it in your grocery list, vacation budgets, your wills, etc. All these small steps, I believe, have helped us and will continue to help us appreciate the beauty of the Church as a “living organism,” to use the phrase of the Italian-German precursor of the Second Vatican Council, Romano Guardini. I have always been amazed by the vision that the Apostle John saw while a prisoner in the Island of Patmos: After this, Looked, there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Revelation 7:9). Is this what our parish family is? People from different continents gathered around the living Lord! John’s vision reveals the fascinating character of the Church in heaven.

As I have pointed out severally, the Church is not a product of a Cartesian res cogitans, whose being emanates from our clever thinking. If anything, the Church goes ahead of us, of our thinking. Her being is a mystery that even when we strive to capture all the intricacies that mark her being, it is in the nature of the Church to be more than we can think of her. The Church is wiser than the most brilliant professor from Harvard or Boston College, in that the Church’s wisdom is the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Hence, the proper hermeneutical framework for approaching the Church, in fact, the most comprehensive basis for understanding Ste. Anne as a part of the Church is faith, a faith that seeks to understand. This is not to discard rationality. In fact, on a subjective note, I tend to understand and thanks to my understanding, I believe. Faith, God, and the Church, from my own perspective, appear to me, in the words of Descartes, as clear and distinct ideas: intellegoutcredam (John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, III). But in all, faith is a legitimate way of seeing the Church and of seeing the world (Pascal). Ratzinger characterizes faith as the organ of the heart that sees. And in seeing the Church with the eyes of faith, we end up seeing ourselves anew, as something willed and loved by God, called to share in God’s life, so much so that in the human aspiration to become God, we answer in the affirmative, with Blondel: yes, we want to become God with God, and not God without God (Hegel and Nietzsche). And only by becoming God with God that we enter into the definitive meaning of who we are as humans, for God has created us for Himself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in God (Augustine of Hippo).

My gratitude to the staff, the volunteers, and Fr. Jim Morris, Fr. Edmund Ugweogbu, Fr. Ernest Egebdike, Fr. Denis Tameh, Fr. Kevin Sakwe and Fr. Casmia Bello, for your companionship and friendship during these years. I wish Fr. Casmia a beautiful and fruitful ministry as the spiritual leader of Ste. Anne. Twenty-two years after we first met as classmates in the Propaedeutic Year at Vianney Centre, Bafut, Cameroon, you are now my successor! Mysterium ecclesiae! Now, with Fr. Casmia, a new chapter beginsin the long history of Ste. Anne’s. Every parish priest opens a new chapter in the life of a parish. God be with Fr. Casmia. Be assured of my closeness in prayer and my moral support. The Blessed Virgin Mary whom you dearly love, will always accompany you with her maternal intercession, now and always.

In Jesus and Mary,

Rev. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai, S.T.D., Ph.D.

Outgoing Parish Priest

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary