THE ROLE CATHOLIC CLERGY AND LAITY PLAYED IN ANNOUNCED NATIONAL DIALOGUE

Priests and Bishops pose for pictures at 67th BAPEC session

Cameroon’s president Paul Biya announced a major national dialogue to commence as from the end of this month.  The announcement came in a speech which he addressed to the nation hinged on the throes of the socio political crisis that has gripped the North West and South West region. It is barely a week since the national dialogue was announced and the topic is animating public debates. It is however time to give credit to the clerics and the laity of the Holy Mother Church the for role played in paving the path of dialogue
Since the outbreak of the Anglophone crisis, the priests, the bishops, the religious and other leaders of the church have often echoed and re-echoed that only profound and meaningful dialogue can bring solution to the problems plaguing the North West and South West regions of Cameroon.
In fact memories of 29-Dec-2016 are still fresh, the date when bishops of the Bamenda Provincial Episcopal Conference tabled a Memorandum to President Paul Biya on the current situation in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon. In that document, the Bishops traced the origin of the Anglophone crisis and stated categorically that there is a crisis that is causing deaths, destruction of property and abuse of human lives. That memorandum was coming just one month into the Anglophone crisis and there the Bishops noted that constructive Dialogue and the Establishment of a Roadmap is a means in handling the crisis. On the 4th of October 2017 when the crisis had clocked a year, the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda issued a declaration following the massive demonstrations and the curfew imposed on the North West and south west regions. The Bishops message was for all people to harken to the voice of peace and so they noted in that declaration that “If you in your turn had only understood on this day the message of peace. That declaration condemned brutality, torture, inhuman and unjustified treatment but sounded the call for honest and meaningful dialogue with the right people to determine the nature and form of the state to be undertaken as soon as possible.
 In 2018 BAPEC released a message of comfort to all affected and also appealed for more fervent prayers for God to soften the hearts of the leaders to organise dialogue. This was after meeting in August 2018 and the message was titled Console; Console My people says Your God.
The National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon made up of all the Bishops of the country also procured a national dialogue as the bishops constantly made their voices heard for an all inclusive dialogue to end to the matter.
Another icon to credit for tracing a route to the dialogue table is 89 years old Christian Cardinal Tumi who though faced with stumbling blocks made strides for religious leaders to hold an All Anglophone Conference that would talk things out. His efforts surely put President Paul Biya to action.
Spiritual contributions from the laity in the form of prayers and supplication cannot go unmentioned in fact the peace prayer of St Francis of Assisi, the Memorare, First Friday devotions and Holy Mass are all devotions which the laity and the clergy have constantly taken to invoke God’s hand into the crisis. With the dialogue forum opened for religious leaders to partake among other stakeholders Christians can continue trusting on the shepherds of the Church, the ones saddled to bear the yoke of the sheep. Just as the Prophet Isaiah says come let’s reason together, it is hoped that the religious leaders would continue to represent the true image and needs of God’s people