– Insist that education is a common good and a fundamental right and therefore decried irreparable injustice done to those who can’t go to school
– Call on all education stakeholders to work together towards effective school resumption
– Denounce drug abuse and violence in schools
– Call for “authentic social dialogue” as the surest path to peace in the troubled Anglophone regions
– Call for respect of fundamental human rights and ask youths to be evangelisers of their peers
By YUSINYU OMER in Yaoundé
The 73rd ordinary session of Bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province took place last week in Bishop’s House Small Soppo, Buea from August 17 to August 21, 2022, under the chairmanship of its president His Grace Andrew FuanyaNkea, archbishop of Bamenda.
The meeting which ended on Sunday august 21, 2022 with a Pontifical Mass presided over by His Lordship Aloysius Abangalo Fondong, Bishop of Mamfe, at the Holy Family Parish Newtown, Limbe saw the bishops calling for the respect of fundamental human rights, especially in the troubled regions of the country.
In a collective statement, the bishops groaned over the continuous acts of atrocities perpetrated by armed groups and security forces in the North West and South West regions. In the message issued at the close of this 73rd ordinary meeting, the Bishops said they were deeply touched by the piteous and distressing cries of anguish resulting from acts of banditry, kidnapping, assassination, lynching, armed robbery and the reckless use of force by some armed groups and security menin the country.
President of BAPEC
While emphasizing the dignity of the human person “created in God’s image and likeness” and the sacredness and inviolability of human life, the Bishops strongly repeated their call for dialogue, and their condemnation of violent methods of resolving disputes, because violence begets violence.”Authentic social dialogue, which involves the ability to respect the other’s point of view and to admit that it may include legitimate convictions and concerns are the surest path to durable peace”, insisted the bishops.
While reiterating the fundamental right of all to education, the Bishops called on all stakeholders to work together towards the effective resumption of Schools for the 2022/2023 Academic Year, and to create a safe and enabling environment for teaching and learning. The Catholic Bishops equally commended the wisdom and commitment of all the communities which gave students and pupils the opportunity to go to school during the 2021/2022 academic year and decried the irreparable injustice done to all who are prevented from going to school.
The growing frequency of drug abuse and violence registered in schools during the 2021/2022 academic year all over the Country was a major subject of concern to the Bishops. Such acts of self-destruction, the Bishops said, “can seriously compromise the attainment of the goals of education in schools. The Bishops equally maintained that this challenge a holistic approach that engages all the stakeholders in the domain of education. They made a call to thegovernment to intensify sensitisation on the damaging effects of indulging in the abuse of drugs and in violence, and also to reinforce the application of measures aimed at preventing the sale, circulation and use of illegal drugs.
They equally advised parents on the “urgent need to become more vigilant and to accompany their children along the path of their growth and personality development. This, they said, requires an effective presence in the life of their families and close collaboration with schools.
Finally, the Bishops imparted their Apostolic Blessing on all God’s children in the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda, entrusting them to Mary, Mother of the Church and Help of Christians, while calling on the youths to reject every inducement to the deleterious practices of drug abuse and respond to the call to become the evangelisers of their peers.