BAPECNRFS/2020/16 25 Scpternber 2020
MESSAGE OF THE BISHOPS OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE OF BAMENDA AT THE END OF THE 69TH MEETING OF THE BAMENDA
PROVINCIAL EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE (BAPEC) IN BUEA
To
All the Members of Christ's Faithful, Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda; All People of Goodwill.
"Out ofthe depths cry toyou, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to the voice ofmy pleading" CPS. 130: l),
l. At the end of the 69 th Ordinary General Assembly of the Bamenda Provincial Episcopal Conference (BAPEC), we, the Bishops, thought it opportune to address a message to all the Members of Christ's Faithful in the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda and to all People of Goodwill. We have addressed many messages to you before; but Mte shall not get tired of always raising a prophetic voice when and where possible, crying out to God to have mercy on his people in their distress. As St. Paul says, "Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, utith everyform ofpatient instruction " (2Tim 4:2).
2.For the past four years, we have been preoccupied and worried about the sociopolitical situation plaguing the two Regions of the North West and the South West of Carneroon, are coterminous with the territorial circumscription of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda. We have seen people of all ages and walks of life killed in cold blood for flimsy or no reasons at all; we have witnessed the ravages of war and the untold sufferings it has caused our people; we can testify that many of our children are growing older, Inany of our young girls are becoming unprepared mothers and above all uneducated, because of their inability to go to school as a result of the ongoing crisis. We have also seen the destruction of property, kidnappings and demanding for ransom; and the crime wave is on the increase. We have been struggling to manage the situation of thousands of internally displaced persons, refugees, and the homeless, a situation that has been created by the excesses of man's wickedness to man. We have seen the economy of our two regions plummet to abysmal depths from a once booming and prosperous economy, due to ghost towns, frequent lockdowns and heavy militarization of the two regions, accompanied by extortion and torture. The insecurity in the two regions has reached unimaginable heights and we are even entertaining fears that the worst may still be ahead.
3, While we are grappling with a bad-enough-situation, created by the socio-political crisis, the scourge of the Coronavirus Pandemic has not spared our people and has made an already very difficult life even more difficult. Life has become almost unbearable to our people and this is a great concern for us as Chief Shepherds of the flock entrusted to our care.
4.Meeting in conference within the last week, we wish to put out this message to all the stakeholders in this situation, calling for the power of reason to prevail over the use of force in solving our domestic problems. Recalling some of the things we have said before concerning this crisis, we hereby sincerely place an urgent call to you all the Members of Christ's Faithful in the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda, all People of Goodwill, and the international community, regarding the following points:
5.Call for a Ceasefire in the North West and South West Regions: On the 23rd of March 2020, the Secretary General of the United Nations first proposed a global ceasefire in war-tom areas of the world, so as to focus efforts on curbing the spread of the Coronavirus Pandemic. On the 29th of March 2020, Pope Francis added his voice to this call in the following words: "The callfor a global and immediate ceasefire, which would allow the peace and security essentialfor providing the humanitarian assistance so urgently needed, is commendable" (Sunday Angelus: 29 March 2020). On the 5 th of July 2020, Pope Francis, in reference to the resolution of the UN Security Council of the 1 st of July 2020, prayed that this resolution may "become a courageous first step towards a peacefulfuture" (Sunday Angelus, 5 July 2020).
We, the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda, as first-hand witnesses to the sufferings of our people, join our voices to the voice of Our Holy Father Pope Francis and many other world leaders, calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Nonh West and South West Regions of Cameroon.
6.Call for the Release of Anglophone Political Prisoners: In order that the ceasefire may be effective, we call for the release of all prisoners connected with the Anglophone crisis as a step in the direction of a resolution of the crisis. While appreciating the efforts of the Government in releasing 333 prisoners as a fruit of the Major National Dialogue of 2019, we hereby reiterate our call for the release of all the prisoners of the Anglophone crisis. This will go a long way to pacify the fighters on the ground and get the released prisoners act as agents for the attainment ofjustice and peace in our communities.
7.Call for Continuation of Dialogue: Already, in a message by all the Bishops of Cameroon on the 29th of April 2017, the Bishops called for Dialogue as the only
pacific way to solve what had come to be known as the Anglophone problem. Inter alia, they said that Dialogue is important and necessary. "It is the promotion of the heritage of the common social and ethical values in different social and cultural traditions in order that all citizens may participate in the consolidation of the common good To be effective, such a dialogue must be open, invigorated by a sincere respect for others and a spirit of reconciliation, fraternity and a readiness to compromise." Dialogue is never enough until it has achieved its purpose. In our case, justice and peace are our final goal; and, we cannot stop dialoguing and working towards dialogue until we attain the justice and peace, which are the daily cry of our people. We, therefore, encourage all the parties involved in this crisis not to relent their efforts to continue dialoguing, even when things don't seem to look bright.
8.Call for Complete School Resumption in the Two Regions: In the open letter that the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda published on the 23rd of August 2019, appealing for the resumption of schools, we said: "Since the beginning of this crisis, we have endeavoured to make a clear distinction between the causes of the crisis and the children's right to education. We have always made recourse to the teachings of the Church, that 'all men of whatever race, condition or age, in virtue of their dignity as human persons, have an inalienable right to education. This education should be suitable to the particular destiny of the individuals, adapted to their ability, sex and national cultural traditions, and should be conducive to fraternal relations with other nations in order to promote true unity and peace in the world' (Gravissimum Educationis, n. 1)". Once again, we call on all parents to send their children to school for the 2020/2021 School Year, so that their future can be guaranteed in a competitive world of academics and technological accomplishments. We also appeal to those who have acted as a threat to the education of our children and/or have blocked it and are using our children as a shield for political gains, to give the children a chance to build their own future.
9.Call for Pastoral Unity in the Diocese of Buea: Lastly, within the context of our meeting, we noted with regret the sad events that have characterized the last couple of months in the Diocese of Buea, regarding some administrative acts posited by the legitimate Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese, His Lordship Michael Miabesue BIBI. This led to unimaginable acts of wanton disobedience of ecclesiastical authority that even resulted in civil lawsuits in which Christians, Priests and Religious were involved. We, the Bishops of BAPEC, do not only condemn such disobedience and damage caused to the local Church, but also express complete solidarity with our brother Bishop, the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Buea. We also call on all the Priests, Religious Men and Women and all Christ's Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Buea to pledge and express their unflinching support to their "protem" legitimate Chief Shepherd, whose governance of the Church of Buea is greatly esteemed ecclesiastically. We call on those trying to destabilise the Church of Buea and calumnise the Bishops of our Province to desist from such demonic acts, repent of their sins and ask God for his boundless mercy.
10.May the Holy Spirit, who is Lord and Giver of Life, continue to watch over the Church in the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda. May Christ, the Prince of Peace, grant justice and peace once again in the North West and South West Regions. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles and Queen of Peace, intercede for us.
Given in Buea,
This 25th Day of the Month of September 2020.
+ Andrew NKEA FUANYA + George NKUO
Archbishop of Bamenda and Bishop of Kumbo and
Apostolic Administrator of Mamfe President of BAPEC
+ Michael MIABESUE BIBI Auxiliary Bishop of Bamenda and Apostolic Administrator of Buea
No comments:
Post a Comment