“Many ex-students from catholic colleges in the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda who have become so anti-catholic and anti-Christians that they don’t want to hear anything about the church when they travel and live in the US or Europe”.
By Nchumbonga George Lekelefac
On Monday October 24, 2022, the president of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, and metropolitan Archbishop of Bamenda, His Grace Andrew Fuanya Nkea received in audience in Dallas, USA, The SUN’s US/Europe Chief Correspondent, who does freelance with other media organs and is the CEO/Founder of the Nchumbonga Lekelefac Institute of Research, Documentation and Culture, USA, George Nchumbonga Lekelefac. The meeting took place in a very friendly atmosphere at the residence of his sister. Archbishop Nkea was seated in a private living room in the house waiting for me. However, it was our fourth encounter. They spoke on a range issues affecting the church and on our correspondent’s research and findings. It was a very interesting exchange. Read on…….
Recognition and Gratitude
Archbishop Nkea sitting on the left side of the living room dressed in black suit with a white roman collar shirt and a pectoral cross dangling over his neck. He smiled from ear to ear when he saw me an exclaimed: “This is Nchumbonga George Lekelefac.” I said yes as I approached him. Then, he got up from the chair he was sitting; meanwhile, he was waiting for me to come towards him. I approached him and greeted him in the ecclesiastical way by genuflecting and at the same time kissing his episcopal ring. The meeting began with Archbishop Nkea expressing: “I can now relate your name with your face, so this is Nchumbonga” he concluded. I said, yes, and observed that this was the fourth time I was meeting him in person and went along to narrate the three encounters I have had with him. During the meeting, Archbishop Nkea began by congratulating me on all my research articles. He noted that he had been reading them on social media. He said that it was in Chicago that he read an article titled: “Controversy emerges as to who is actual Bishop of Mamfe: which was published on Thursday, October 13, 2022, in The Herald Tribune, No. 155, page 8 to 9. He noted that he was very elated to see a layperson write so canonically and theologically about the Church in the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda and about the Catholic Church in Cameroon and told me frankly: “George, I called you here to encourage you like a father, to carry on with the good work of evangelization through your writings and publications.” He noted: “As the archbishop of Bamenda, I cannot see you doing such a wonderful thing and not encourage you. That is why I wanted to meet with you in person to encourage you and to thank you for your great interest in researching and documenting on the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda.” He noted that he was very willing to support my mission of research and documentation whenever the need be.
Impact of my writings
Secondly, Archbishop Nkea observed that I was impacting the world with research articles about the catholic faith and about the ecclesiastical province of Bamenda. He said that I was like St. Justin Martyr, who was a Greek Philosopher-Apologists in the early Christian church, and whose writings represent one of the first positive encounters of Christian revelation with Greek philosophy and laid the basis for a theology of history. Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, “speaking in defense”) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120– 220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their faith to outsiders were called Christian apologists. Archbishop Nkea profoundly appreciated my defense and elucidation of the Catholic faith through writings on social media.
Profound lamentation regarding ex-students from catholic colleges
Archbishop Nkea lamented profoundly that there are many ex-students from catholic colleges in the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda who have become so anti-catholic and anti-Christians that they don’t want to hear anything about the church when they travel and live in the US or Europe. He said that it was so unfortunate given the fact that these students pass through catholic education. Against this background, he praised this writer for the dedication and commitment in writing about the catholic faith publicly with commitment. Corroborating the Archbishop, it is exactly what happens to me on many social media groups when I post church articles. The reactions by some were not encouraging at all, and most of these members on these ‘whatsapp groups’ are ex minor seminarians and ex-students from catholic schools, lamentably. They easily become so uncomfortable with any article that has to do with the catholic faith or the Catholic Church.
People talking about the church when they know nothing about
Archbishop Nkea noted that there are many of these ex-students who talk about the catholic faith and the Catholic Church when they know nothing about. Most of them did not even study theology and know nothing about canon law, the laws governing the Catholic Church. He lamented the statements made on social media about the church from these people who are totally ignorant about what they are saying about the church. It is at this juncture that he praised this reporter for taking the pains to research on church topics and educating these people. He said that he could not understand why people speak with authority on topics they are not expert in. He called on such people to study, read from theological books and documents and the code of canon law before they voice out their negative criticisms. Establishment of the NchumbongaLekelefac Institute of Research, Documentation, Language & Culture, USA Archbishop Nkea noted that he was happy to know that our reporter had founded and established a non-profit organization in the US known as the “Nchumbonga Lekelefac Institute of Research, Documentation and Culture, USA.” I then went on to explain to Archbishop Nkea the vision, mission and objectives of the Institute and how it was authorized in the USA in less than no time due to the myriads of articles and books I had already written. I told him that I wrote my first book as a seminarian in 2005, some 17 years ago titled: “French Made Easy” , a book I authored in order to assist my French students at St Joseph major Seminary. I was both a seminarian and a French Lecturer then and there was a need to have a French book that facilitated the learning of French by Nigerian English Speakers. In addition, my passion in writing dates back as far as 1997 when as student at St Joseph’s College Sasse, I used to write letters to my father and mum at the end of every term to narrate to them how my studies were going, given the fact that my home was in far away Mbalmayo. In addition, I had many pen pals in Germany and Spain, and would write to them every month. This is how I developed my passion of writing.
Partnership between CATUC & the “Institute of Research, Documentation, Language and Culture”
Furthermore, Archbishop Nkea noted with dismay that unfortunately, back in the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda, we are still lacking with research and documentation. He noted that when some Americans heard that he was visiting the USA, what most of them did was to google to know who he was. He noted that the social media has become so important that each diocese needs to have a rich website. He noted objectively that there is a need for the archdiocese of Bamenda to update its website and make it rich by documenting all the events that take place, just as it is done in Europe and America. He explained that the Major Seminary in Bambui has a well-organized library under the leadership of Fr. Henri Peeters, Mill Hill Missionary.
Research and Documentation
With regards to the topic of research and documentation about our culture and people, Archbishop Nkea noted that there was a need to encourage the students to write and document about our culture and our people. He noted that many people in the USA and Europe have called him and have asked him: “Archbishop Nkea, we are writing a thesis on so and so person who lived in Bamenda, please, do you know where we could find a research book on him or her” And the Archbishop said: “Unfortunately, no one has written on that person”. It is against this background that Archbishop Nkea inquired the possibility of a partnership between “The Catholic university of Cameroon, Bamenda (CATUC)” and the “Institute of Research, Documentation, Language and Culture.” I told Archbishop Nkea that one of the missions of our institute is to partner with other institutes and universities and that we were very open to having a reciprocal and mutual partnership for the interest of both parties and noted limpidly that our institute would be very happy to partnership with the CATUC on research, documentation, language and culture. He said that it would be good to have this partnership which will facilitate ground research and promote the documentation of our culture, and our Ecclesiastical province. He praised the research of Fr. Dr. Constant Leke on the Encyclopedia of Lebialem and the history of Mamfe diocese. He also praised the classic work of Vincent Lockhart titled: “Social Change among the Bangwa of Cameroon.”
In a nutshell, Archbishop Nkea praised the great initiative of this reporter in establishing the NchumbongaLekelefac Institute of Research, Documentation, Language, and Culture, USA and noted that the fruits are seen in publications and writings.
Research Book on Dr. Bernard Fonlon
Archbishop Nkea was handed a 1085-page research book on Dr. Bernard Nsokika Fonlon of glorious and evergreen memory. When Archbishop took the 3 kilograms book, he exclaimed: “This is great work”, and took time to flip the pages of the book and saw all the documented interviews I conducted in the Vatican, in Nigeria and in Cameroon to his profoundest amazement. He commented: “You see, Nchumbonga, this is exactly what I was talking about, this is what we need to do, this is what people want, a research book like this on our people and culture, congratulations for this research and documentation,” he concluded.
Commenting about late Prof. Fonlon, Archbishop Nkea said that the person who picked him up from the airport in Houston is the niece of late Prof. Bernard Fonlon. Archbishop Nkea said frankly and honesty. “The nephew of late Bernard Fonlon asked me at what level we were with the beatification of late Archbishop Paul Verdzekov and I told him that in my last visit to the Vatican, I stopped at the Congregation for the Canonization of Saints to inquire at what stage the cause of late Archbishop Paul Verdzekov was and to my utter surprise, I was told by that office that there was no case that had been introduced on late Archbishop Paul Verdzekov on file in the Congregation of the Canonization of Saints in the Vatican. ” Archbishop Nkea then explained: The Archdiocese of Bamenda launched the cause of beatification of late Paul Verdzekov without submitting any documentation to this congregation. He profoundly lamented this fact and said that the archdiocese of Bamanda made a terrible mistake, to have launched the cause of Archbishop Verdzekov without following the Vatican procedures on how a beatification launching is done. He noted that we must learn to follow the due process in the beatification causes and that we are lacking terribly when it comes to documentation noting that it was of primordial importance in the process of beatification. How could the archdiocese of Bamenda launch the cause of beatification of late Archbishop Paul Verdzekov without following the due procedures? I inquired. He noted that the archdiocese has to begin from afresh with documentation of the life of late Archbishop Paul Verdzekov. He noted that there is need for documentation to proof that ‘so so and so’ lived a life distinguished with heroic virtues and added: “That is why your institute will be of profound importance to us.
Archbishop Nkea then noted that the permission, known as “Nihilobstat” (nothing stands in the way) is supposed to be communicated to the initiating bishop once the case is introduced in the congregation of the canonization of Saints. This has not yet been done with the case of late Archbishop Paul Verdzekov because no cause was ever introduced in the Congregation of the Canonization of the Saints in the first place. I lamented why the archdiocese of Bamenda will launch a cause of canonization in Bamenda without having dropped the documentation. Archbishop Nkea concluded that the archdiocese has to learn how to process the cause of beatification. It is only when the Cause of beatification has begun, that the individual is called a Servant of God. We have not heard anything yet about Archbishop Paul Verdzekov because the cause of beatification never began in the first place.
With regards to Bernard Fonlon, Archbishop Nkea said that it is Bishop George Nkuo who has to initiate the cause of Bernard Nsokika Fonlon. Why interest in Research & Documentation? They say that it is only an author who recognizes an author because they know the sacrifices that an author goes through to come out with a published book. Against this background, it is important for to mention that Archbishop Nkea is himself an author of books and a myriad of articles. He is an erudite writer and researcher and has been very interested in documenting events. Archbishop Andrew Nkea has also published a myriad of books and articles. He is a prolific writer.
With regards to his interest in research, Archbishop Nkea said unfortunately, when he became a bishop, it has not been easy to research and write again due to the herculean pastoral responsibility. The 45 minutes audience ended with some pictures taken to immortalize the meeting between the two. A scrumptious meal of fufu and eru followed which was offered by Archbishop Nkea’s sister – Juliana Atem.
*Nchumbonga George Lekelefac, Doctorandus, University of Münster, Germany and CEO/Founder of the “NchumbongaLekelefac Institute of Research, Documentation, Language and Culture, USA”