On the fourth day of his Apostolic Journey across Africa, Pope Leo visits Cameroon’s conflict-ridden North-west, and stresses that the time for change is “today and not tomorrow, now and not in the future”.
Pope Leo on Thursday visited Bamenda, a city in Cameroon’s troubled north-west region which is at the centre of a decade-long conflict known as the ‘Anglophone Crisis’.
Since 2016, rebel groups belonging to Cameroon’s English-speaking minority have been fighting government forces in the region, in an attempt to create a separate state in the North-west and South-west of the country.
Killing and devastation
Upon arriving in Bamenda, the Pope held a peace meeting with local community leaders, including representatives of various religious denominations and local traditional rulership. Huge crowds gathered both inside and outside the Cathedral of St Joseph, where the meeting was held, dancing and singing.
“The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild,” the Pope told those gathered. “They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.”
And, in words that were picked up by media outlets around the world, the Pope warned his listeners that “the world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants”.
New possibilities
The Anglophone crisis broke out in 2016, and all attempts to reach a peace agreement so far have failed. In his homily at a Mass at Bamenda airport, in the early afternoon, the Pope admitted that the situation is one which might give rise to “resignation and helplessness”.
Cameroon’s hope for a peaceful future, he said, has been “continually disappointed” by problems including corruption, poverty and emigration.
However, the Pope stressed, “the word of the Lord opens up new possibilities … It is capable of stirring our hearts, of challenging the normal course of events.” The time for change, he said, has come: “today and not tomorrow, now and not in the future”.
Moving forward
After a decade of brutal conflict, the inhabitants of Cameroons north-west and south-west regions are hoping that the Pope’s visit can indeed open a path to peace.
Speaking to Vatican News, Bishop Michael Bibi of Buea, a diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Bamenda, noted that an Anglophone separatist alliance had, in honour of the Pope’s visit, declared a three-day ceasefire – the first time it had done so, he stressed.
Now what was needed, Bishop Bibi underlined, was for the warring parties to “come together and ask: how do we move on from here?”.
Source: Vaticannews.va / By Joseph Tulloch – Bamenda
