The Cameroonian Bishop adds, “We did not fail to associate such pain to the saving passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, especially in the wake of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - the source of our hope and victory - which we celebrated two days after the ill-fated incident.”
“Even as I write to indicate that nine members of our beloved Diocesan Family are still in the hands of the abductors, I urge you not to relax every prayerful endeavor for their safety and subsequent release,” Bishop Abangalo says in his September 21 message shared with ACI Africa.
The Cameroonian Bishop who started his Episcopal Ministry in May this year adds, “It is thanks to the prayers so far that I attest that they are alive and strong and that we are gradually surmounting every feat surrounding their subsequent release.”
“It is actually at this moment that we need to showcase our much needed ‘One Family' spirit, above all, by storming the heavens with prayers on their behalf and for all those in similar situations,” he says, and continues, “Pray too for their family and friends, that they may collaborate with the gentle Spirit of God, and together join us all to where the same Spirit is already leading us as a Church.”
The 49-year-old Cameroonian Bishop urges the people of God in his Episcopal See not to “lose sight of what our faith teaches that being the body of Christ we must have our own fair share of sufferings and persecution - this is exactly what the Church is going through in our time.”
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“Since the body is always complete only when united with the head, let us be rest assured that the resilience of Christ, the Head, whose Body we are as Church, will forever remain the source of our hope in these troubled times,” Bishop Abangalo further says.
He continues, “As we continue to pray for the conversion of those who have taken upon themselves the awkward duty of persecuting God's Church, let us not fail to configure our whole being to the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who never failed to participate actively in the passion of her Son - a reality we celebrated on the eve of this unfortunate incident.”
May the Blessed Virgin Mary, he implores, “who is the Help of Christians and Mother of the Church, continue to intercede for us always, and above all, during this moment of pain and sorrow.”
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.
