AFRICA/CAMEROON – The Archbishop of Bamenda: “If Father John is not released by November 26, the churches in the deanery will be closed”

Yaoundé – “If by November 26, the captors have not released Father John, I request all the priests, religious personnel from all Catholic institutions in Ndop deanery will be closed. Priests will be evacuated for their safety, and the Blessed Sacrament will be removed from the churches.” This was announced by Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda, in the Northeast region of Cameroon, who said he will suspend the pastoral activities of the Archdiocese if Father John Berinyuy Tatah, parish priest of Babessi, kidnapped along with his vicar on November 15, is not released. The announcement was made in a statement signed by the Archbishop himself and read yesterday, Sunday, November 23, during Masses celebrated in all parishes of the Archdiocese. Archbishop Nkea added that “if by November 28, Father John is still in captivity, the Archbishop, all the priests, religious and members of Christ’s lay faithful of the archidiocese will go down to Baba I, and march to the place where he is being held, and will either bring him back home or remain there until he is released.”
According to Archbishop Nkea, Father John and his vicar were kidnapped on November 15 as they were returning home after celebrating Mass for the inauguration of the PAX University Institute in Ndop. The two priests “were captured in Baba I by several armed men claiming to be separatist fighters from Ambazonia, and taken to an unknown location.” This refers to the separatists who proclaimed the independence of Northeast and Southeast Cameroon on October 1, 2017, symbolically establishing the so-called Republic of Ambazonia .
The statement specifies that on November 18, four priests and a layperson sent to negotiate the release of the two priests were captured. The vicar, the other four priests, and the layman were released on November 20, but the kidnappers are still holding Father John, for whose release Archbishop Nkea has now threatened to suspend all pastoral activities. This is because, as the Archbishop states, “the frequent kidnappings of our priests and mission personnel have put us against the wall, and all of this must end immediately.” “There are many lay people who have suffered terribly from kidnappings, torture, and violence in our Archdiocese,” recalls Archbishop Nkea, who asks the military—who should be maintaining order and protecting the population—not to torture civilians or extort money from them.

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