Catholic Archbishop in Cameroon Calls for Peace, Integrity ahead of 2025 Presidential Elections

“When there is a problem, as a Church, we must denounce it in order to find solutions to what is wrong in our country,” he said.

The Catholic Church leader continued, “The Church is not on the sidelines. No, the Church is in society. The Church works for society. The Church is at the service of society, that is, at the service of people.”

Archbishop Kleda also spoke about the critical importance of free, fair, and peaceful elections, urging citizens to participate in the polls responsibly.

“First of all, the elections must take place in peace. Everything that is necessary must be gathered for an election without fraud, a free election,” he said.

The 66-year-old Catholic Archbishop, who started his Episcopal Ministry in February 2001 as Bishop of Cameroon’s Batouri Diocese said that every Cameroonian must be empowered to vote freely and choose leaders who reflect their vision for the nation’s future.

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He cautioned against coercion, emphasizing that “all candidates have the same right to win, the same chance to win. This is what we call an election.”

Cameroon’s Catholic Bishops have convened in the Catholic Diocese of Buea to explore ways of putting into practice the deliberations of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the Synod on Synodality, which Pope Francis officially inaugurated in 2021.

The ongoing 48th Annual Seminar of the NECC members is organized under the theme, “Living Synodality in our Local Church”.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.