By Nchumbonga George Lekelefac
On Tuesday, December 6, 2022, Archbishop Andrew Nkea celebrated the mass of the closing of the Marian Year and Opening of the Year of the Eucharist at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima-Queen of Peace, Abangoh-Bamenda, which was broadcasted by Divine Mercy TV of the Mother and beloved Diocese of Buea. During that mass, before the singing of the Gloria, Archbishop Nkea expressed in Pidgin English inter alia: “Before we sing the Gloria for the big thing weh God don do for we for this year…Yesterday, when I finished work for here, I go back for house and I look my telephone because work I bin plenti for here. When I go back for house for evening time, I look my telephone and I see say I don receive message from Holy Father, Pope Francis. Pope Francis weh ei sabi say we dey here just now and we…..on top of that blessing, Holy Father he decide for surprise we with the creation of five new monsignors. The People weh Holy Father surprise…1) Msgr. William Niba; 2) Msgr. John Ambe; 3) Msgr Michael Yuh; 4) Msgr. Michael Kintang; 5) Msgr. Anthony Viban.”After that mass, there was a lot of controversy across the globe on some WhatsApp groups over Archbishops Nkea’s message. By controversy, I mean disagreement, typically when prolonged, public, and heated.
Why was there disagreement?
The disagreement did not result from the fact that Pope Francis appointed five monsignors in the Archdiocese of Bamenda, but on the fact that normally, the Holy Father does not inform the appointment of monsignors to diocesan bishops. The Holy Father is a very busy pastor of the universal church, for he is in charge of an estimated 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, according to Vatican figures. In addition, he is also the Head of State of the Vatican. Thus, many have been wondering aloud whether it is true that Pope Francis informed Archbishop Nkea about the appointments of five monsignors via phone to faraway Bamenda, when he does not even do it with the appointment of bishops. If Pope Francis really did that, then, it is new thing as far as the formal protocol of informing bishops on the appointment of monsignors is concerned. These people are wondering aloud what the function of the Secretariat of State is and the Apostolic Nuncios and why Pope Francis has decided to take over their duties. These are questions that emanated from the controversy which I would like to attend to very objectively as an independent ecclesiastical lay journalist and canon lawyer who enjoys the freedom to say things as they are without taking sides and without any fear from ecclesiastical authority. Had I been a priest, I would not enjoy this freedom.
As I see it: Cold-blooded Nerve of a Surgeon
Now, let me, with the cold-blooded nerve of a surgeon cut the case in order to best analyze it. In all that will follow, I intend to speak very plainly and bluntly, with the freedom that I have nothing to lose from any ecclesiastical authority worldwide. In deciding to do so, I have no intention whatsoever to put anybody in the dock. I will do so because I believe and I firmly trust that, if the walls of a house are cracking up, you do not save that house by covering the cracks over with paper. The only right thing to do is to pull it down to its foundations and raise it up anew. To cure a disease, a doctor is often obliged to rip his patient open to find the source and cause of it.Let us now rip the body open to analyze the controversy. The controversy is: Did Pope Francis text Archbishop Nkea regarding the appointment of five monsignors or was it a lie? I am wondering why some people will think that Archbishop Nkea could tell a lie of that magnitude during Mass? Witness that the Episcopal Motto of Archbishop Nkea is “In Spiritu et Veritate” (In Spirit and in Truth).
Now, with my experience and studies of Vaticanology (science of the Vatican), it has not been heard that the appointment of monsignors are done by the Pope directly to the diocesan bishops via phone. The Vatican does not function like that as far as I know. It is not the formal protocol that the Holy Father informs the appointment of monsignors via phone to Archbishops and bishops. I cannot say with certainty that the news by Archbishop Nkea was suffusedly infused with some lies because I do not have access to his phone to check whether Pope Francis sent him a text message or email. I cannot say with certitude. It is only Pope Francis and Archbishop Nkea who can tell us the truth but it is important for Archbishop Nkea to know that his message has caused a lot of controversy because it is not the normal way of announcements of appointments by the Holy See.
A surprise appointment?
The nomination process of monsignors is a very simple and straightforward process that should not result in unnecessary mystery or surprises because it is quite different from the process of the appointments of bishops in the sense that the Holy Father does not have to make a choice of one name from the list. The title “Monsignor” is the apocopic form of the Italian “monsignore,” meaning “my lord”. It is abbreviated Mgr, Mons, or Msgr. Apart from those working in the Roman Curia and the diplomatic service of the Holy See, the Pope grants this title to Catholic diocesan clergy worldwide usually based on the proposal of the local bishop as is the case with the archdiocese of Bamenda. The Catholic Church is organized into particular churches known as dioceses. Each diocese is led by a diocesan bishop, and all of the parish priests within a diocese are under the authority of its diocesan bishop. When the bishop of a diocese believes that one of the priests under his authority should be honored for his exceptional service to the church, he can nominate that priest for the title of monsignor by simply sending his name with a detailed life history and his pastoral achievements to the Apostolic Nuncio. Investigation is done by the Nuncio and then forwarded to the respective offices in the Roman Curia and the results given to the Pope. Then, the Pope reviews the nomination and makes the final decision. If he decides to grant the title of monsignor to the nominee, the Secretariat of State of the Vatican honors the new monsignor with a formal diploma or official document. Thus, the title monsignor is an honorific of sorts normally granted to priests as a reward for service to the church or as a sign of some special function they serve in church governance or simply a recognition of the great work by the priest.
It is noteworthy that it is the diocesan bishop who recommends the priest to be nominated as monsignor. That is why I do not agree when Archbishop Nkea says that Pope Francis has surprised Bamenda. The Pope did not surprise Bamenda, because it is Archbishop Nkea who initiated the process and not the Pope. So, let that be crystal clear. The Pope does not know Father William Niba; Father John Ambe; Father Michael Yuh; Father Michael Kintang; and Father Anthony Viban. It is Archbishop Nkea who knows them and it is Archbishop Nkea who chose these five priests and sent their names to be appointed monsignors to the Holy Father. Had Archbishop Nkea not sent the names, these five will not have been appointed monsignors. Therefore, it is not a surprise that they became monsignors, for it is was simply the handwork of men like Archbishop Nkea. It is my humble wish that on the conferral mass for these five monsignors, Archbishop Nkea could enlighten and educate the people of the archdiocese of Bamenda on the appointment process of monsignors so that it does no look like a mysterious thing, for it is not.
Another Problem: Announcement before Gloria – distraction of the Holy Eucharist
Another troubling thing about this announcement is that Archbishop Nkea delivered this news before the singing of the Gloria during mass, thereby totally distorting the essence of mass. We do not come to mass to be distracted by an archbishop. No one has the right to distort and distract the mass, not even the Pope. In his book “The Spirit of the Liturgy” published by Ignatius Press in 2000, then Cardinal Ratzinger expressed that whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that then essence of liturgy replaced by a kind of religious entertainment. (Cf. Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy, p. 198.) Furthermore, Cardinal Francis Arinze stated vehemently on the Question and Answers with Francis Cardinal Arinze – 2007 at the Totus Tuus Conference, which had 39,438 views on May 1, 2013: “…we do not come to mass to enjoy. We do not come to mass to admire people and clap for them and say, repeat, repeat, excellent. That is alright for the auditorium, for the theater.” (Nchumbonga Lekelefac, ‘Francis Cardinal Arinze: 90th Birthday Festschrift,’ 2022, Volume 1, p.434). And this is exactly what happened during that mass. Archbishop Nkea decided to announce the news of monsignors during the mass before the singing of the Gloria thereby making the mass an entertainment place. Why could Archbishop Nkea not wait and announce the news before the final blessing? To my mind, I did not see the urgent need to distract Christ faithful and clerics at mass which was focused on closing the Marian Year and Opening the Year of the Eucharist. To my mind, that was a total distraction of the inauguration of the Year of the Eucharist. Was the focus on the Eucharist or on monsignors? Am I making some sense and constructive criticism?
Criticism on Appointment of Monsignors
Some have criticized the practice of the appointment of monsignors, saying it leads to an air of careerism in the church which Pope Francis has doggedly criticized. At the October 2013 meeting of the Council of Cardinal Advisers, Pope Francis stated his desire to scale back the honors as part of a broader effort to project a more modest and pastoral vision of leadership. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis never requested papal honors for his priests, associating the honors with clerical “careerism”. The subject of abolishing the monsignor title had been on Pope Francis’ mind, when sources had told National Catholic Register (NCR) it had come up at the first meeting of the Council of Cardinals, the eight-member group of cardinals from around the world who were advising the pope on reforming the Vatican bureaucracy. According to Vatican Insider, the Vatican’s ambassador to Great Britain, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, wrote to all the bishops there to inform them of the pope’s decision and to say that those who had already been given the monsignor title could keep it.Later in December 2013, Pope Francis decreed that diocesan priests could only receive “chaplain of his holiness”, the lowest of the three papal honors. Pope Francis also set a minimum age required to be a monsignor: only diocesan priests over the age of 65 are eligible to receive the title. (Cfr. Joshua Mcelwee, 2014). Existing honors were not affected.That is why the monsignors appointed by Pope Francis for Bamenda Archdiocese are either 65 or above 65. (Cf. O’Connell, Gerard, 2014). He also decided to continue papal honors from all three classes for two groups of clergy: 1) Officials of the Roman Curia; and 2) Members of the diplomatic service.
To my mind, I am in total support of the appointment of monsignors because the intention of recommending monsignors is to recognize the service of all our priests in the diocese or archdiocese by honoring a few representatives out of the many who so faithfully teach, sanctify and shepherd the people of God, especially in these challenging times for the church and for priests. The fact that this is a papal honor also underscores the close bonds of communion between our local church and the Holy Father in Rome. And when a parish priest is named a “monsignor” it is an honor for his parishioners too. A Eucharistic celebration of the conferral of these papal honors at a diocesan mass is often done. Granted, they’ve never formally met the Holy Father and the Pope knows them only through the recommendation of the Archbishop Nkea. However, many of you have these men as spiritual fathers, and this is an opportunity to express your gratitude. It is also an occasion for the fraternity of priests to show gratitude for their service. By receiving this recognition, the whole presbyterate is recognized and the honor is also for everyone in the parish and whose lives the new monsignors has touched. Therefore, the appointment of five monsignors in the Archdiocese of Bamenda should not lead to envy and jealousy among the clergy. The five few that have been appointed should be great joy to the entire clergy of the Archdiocese of Bamenda and it should be seen as good news to each priest of the archdiocese of Bamenda. It is my humble wish that the Suffragan Sees of Buea, Kumbo, Mamfe and Kumba will emulate the example of Archbishop Nkea in recommending some of their priests to Pope Francis for appointments as monsignors.
Honor of Monsignor: Title and Special vestments
The five priests appointed as monsignors will henceforth be addressed as Monsignor Niba; 2) Monsignor Ambe; 3) Monsignor Yuh; 4) Monsignor Kintang; and 5) Monsignor Viban. That is the first honor they will enjoy. Secondly, the honor of being named a monsignor, is that those who receive the title are typically given the privilege to wear special vestments and robes. A Catholic priest who is a monsignor (an honorary title) wears the same vestments as any priest when celebrating the Eucharist. The colour of a monsignorial cassock is different from that of a priest. There are three levels of monsignor: 1) Chaplain: Black cassock with purple trim and purple sash;2) Honorary Prelate (as is the case with the five monsignors appointed in Bamenda Archdiocese): Black cassock with red trim and purple sash. On formal occasions they wear a purple cassock. They do not wear a pectoral cross or a skull cap as do bishops;3) Apostolic Protonotary: These dress in the same manner as honorary prelates, but have the option of using a purple cape (trimmed in red) on formal occasions. In general, the title of monsignor is a great honor for priests, as it serves to recognize their long and dedicated service and contribution to the Church and its members. As spiritual leaders of the Church, monsignors play a vital role in helping to guide the faithful and their communities in living out their faith according to the Gospel. It is noteworthy that the title of ‘Monsignor’ is an honorary title, rather than a specific position in the church hierarchy, since monsignor do not necessarily have any duties distinct from those of any other priest. However, some positions within the Vatican automatically carries the title of monsignor.It is therefore a recognition and honor not only to the priest whose name was submitted but also to the clergy of the Archdiocese of Bamenda and it serves as an encouragement tool for priests to strive towards excellence. (Cf. Scott Thompson, 2018).