BY ATIA TILARIOUS AZOHNWI
“In solidarity with the Bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province and conscious of the present socio-political crisis in the South West and North West Regions, the CMA [Catholic Men Association] has decided on the spiritual aspect to embark on a nine-day novena nationwide from July 21 to July 31, 2018.”
Okie Johnson Ndoh, National President of the Catholic Men Association, CMA Cameroon was speaking in Buea, Sunday, July 8, 2018, at the end of a three-day enlarged national executive meeting of the association.
The deliberations at the National Head Office of the CMA at Great Soppo Buea ended with a Holy Mass at the Small Soppo Cathedral celebrated by Fr. Kizito Forbi, National CMA Chaplain.
At the end of the Holy Mass, the CMA President told The SUN that they resolved among other issues to make their contribution to the resolution of the current Anglophone crisis, especially given that they are a spiritual group with a humanitarian mission.
He said the 9-day novena they are undertaking will end on July 31 with a votive mass for peace to be celebrated across all parishes where the CMA is present. Other groups in the church, he said, shall be called upon to join the novena.
“And on August 19, 2018, in solidarity with the internally displaced persons, CMA will be meeting the Bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province to hand them a token so they can extend relief to the displaced persons,” he said.
The CMA Cameroon president rolled out the other resolutions of the Buea meeting as follows:
“Spiritually, we have been able to come up with uniformity in our spirituality in the CMA. When I talk of spirituality, I am talking of all the spiritual documents, our novenas, our prayers, our bylaws and everything that concerns our spirituality.
We have now adopted a unique and common approach to our spirituality. Wherever you are in Cameroon, we have one common document and approach which we all use.
“On the sustainability of the group, we have agreed that we need to have certain projects. We have chosen to invest in agricultural projects because it is the backbone of our economy. We have decided to establish agricultural projects in the dioceses. 70 percent of the proceeds from the farms will stay with the diocese, while 30 percent will be sent to the national level to help us carry certain projects. This will enable us carry out humanitarian and solidarity actions in our communities.”
The CMA Cameroon statutes approved by the Bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province was also presented to the members who then drew up a road map with a new vision, that of uniformity and consolidating their unity.
The used the three-day meeting to also unveil a plan of action containing the projects they seek to realise. Reports from the 14 dioceses that make up the CMA in Cameroon were presented while they look forward to expand the association to Bafia Diocese.
The presentation of rite of dedication of new members and other documents was also presented in the presence of diocesan delegates and their chaplains, as well as national executive members.