Addressing the socio-political context of Cameroon, Archbishop Nkea said there is widespread public discontent, corruption, poor infrastructure, and security challenges in the Northwest, Southwest, and Far North regions.
He cited President Paul Biya’s recent end-of-year address, and highlighted the need for accountability and reforms to restore trust and improve living conditions of the people of God in Cameroon.
“We, the Bishops of Cameroon, are aware of the suffering of our citizens, and we call on all those responsible for managing our country to place the well-being of Cameroonians above selfish interests,” the Cameroonian Archbishop said.
He added, “Indeed, the Church, in the pursuit of her salvific mission, received from Christ, is committed to promoting man in all his dimensions. The tears of joy and hope, the sorrows and anxieties of men of this time, of the poor above all, and of all those who suffer, are also the joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties of the disciples of Christ.”
In his speech, Archbishop Nkea also reflected on the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, which the Holy Father officially launched on the Eve of Christmas 2024 with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, under the theme, “Pilgrims of Hope”.
He called upon the people of God to embrace the theological virtue of hope, which he said Pope Francis has made central to the 2025 Jubilee Year.
“For the Pope, indeed, the Jubilee Year 2025 must promote a climate of hope and confidence, symbolizing a renaissance felt as necessary everywhere. The Pope invokes hope as a gift for the Jubilee of 2025 in a world struck by the shattering of souls, death, destruction, hatred of others, and hunger,” the Catholic Church leader said.
He continued, “Hope is a theological virtue and a gift from God, not only to Christians but also to all men. As the Holy Father Pope Francis declares, Christian hope, indeed, does not deceive because it is founded on the certainty that nothing or no one will ever be able to separate us from the love of God.”
Despite the difficult times, the Local Ordinary of Bamenda said, “We must not lose sight of the fact that it is in the heart of the night, the darkest night, that God makes the light shine. It is in the heart of the night that the Lord is born in a world that is desperate and it is also in the heart of the night that the liberation of humanity has become possible thanks to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“In our Cameroonian context, there is a real need to live in this hope which doesn’t deceive. A hope which is an open door for our country and for ourselves. Such hope has its roots in the greatest gift of God to the world, which is peace,” Archbishop Nkea said.
