Cameroon: Wild speculations over announced visit of Vatican envoy

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin will in the days ahead pay a visit to Cameroon.

Going by a January 13 release by His Grace Andrew Nkea, Archbishop of Bamenda, “he will celebrate a pontifical mass at the St Joseph’s Metropolitan Cathedral on Sunday 31 January…”.

The official, during the mass, “… will place on the shoulders of my unworthy person, the Pallium which is the insignia of the Metropolitan Archbishop within the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda”.

While the Christian faithful of the diocese and beyond have been celebrating the news, others have read a deeper meaning into the visit.

Judging from the caliber of the Vatican’s envoy, many have opined that his visit is for more than just a religious ceremony.

The elephant in the room, they say, is the armed conflict in the North West and South West regions of the country.

Speaking on Equinoxe TV’s Droit de Response yesterday, Bar. Tamfu Richard of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement party noted that it was essential and beneficial for the church to step in given the power it wields

“We know the importance of the church in Cameroon … If actually, the Catholic Church engages frankly in putting an end to this crisis, it can do something” he suggested.

It should be recalled that the Pope has on a number of occasions highlighted the armed conflict, with the latest being after the Kumba Massacre months back.

Mimi Mefo Info