Pope’s Envoy in Cameroon on High-level Diplomatic Mission

By Tata Mbunwe

Catholic prelates in Cameroon have received Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, who will be leading celebrations of the 10th anniversary of diplomacy between Cameroon and the Holy See.

He was received Friday, November 15, in Yaounde by the National Episcopal Conference, led by its President, Archbishop Andrew Nkea of Bamenda.

Mrg Gallagher will be leading the celebration of the 10th anniversary of what is called the “accord-cadre” between the Republic of Cameroon and the Holy See.

The accord was entered on January 13, 2014, between then Cameroon’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pierre Muokoko Mbonjo, and Archbishop Piero Pioppo, who became the first Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

Now occupied by Archbishop Avelino Bettencourt, the Apostolic Nuncio is the Ambassador of the Holy See to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

He oversees relations between the Holy See and the state, communicates about the well-being of Churches in his jurisdiction, and assists Bishops to exercise their lawful power.

The accord creating diplomatic ties between the Holy See and Cameroon acknowledges the statehood and sovereignty of both parties and the legal personality of the Catholic Church in Cameroon.

Archbishop Gallagher is the most senior official from the Holy See to visit Cameroon in recent memory.

The last high ranking official from Rome to Cameroon was Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State at the Holy See, who was in the country in January 2021.

His mission was primarily to discuss the possibilities of peace in the North West and South West Regions, which are caught up in an armed separatist conflict since 2017.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin met with President Biya and expressed the Pope’s wish to see peace reign. But the diplomatic talk did not yield any practical outcome.

It is uncertain whether the visiting Archbishop Gallagher also bears any message from the Holy See on the Anglophone Crisis and other issues facing Cameroon.