NKONGSAMBA, Cameroon — Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Nkongsamba has announced the safe release of a priest and two members of the Fraternity of Franciscans of Emmanuel (FFE) who were reportedly abducted in the country’s North-West Region.
In the letter that the diocesan chancellor, Abbé Luc Roger Dodo, issued on July 1, the diocese gave thanks to God for the release of Father John Bosco Bihkong and Brothers Sylvester Sewong and Marie Rodrigue, who were kidnapped on Saturday night, June 27.
“Thank you to everyone for your prayers and expressions of support, which have borne fruit,” Dodo said in the letter, quoting the psalmist: “Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.”
In a statement issued June 30, the vicar general of the diocese announced the kidnapping of the three men.
According to Father Joseph Tchinda Dountio, Bihkong had traveled to his native village of Melim, near Ndop in the North-West Region of Cameroon, to celebrate his first Mass on Friday, June 26.
He was accompanied by Brother Sylvester Sewong, guardian of the FFE convent in Kékem, and Brother Marie Rodrigue Sop, who is preparing for a perpetual profession. The three were abducted the following night.
No details were provided regarding the identity of the kidnappers, their motives, or whether contact had been established with the abductors.
Cameroonʼs North-West Region is one of the two English-speaking regions that have experienced years of insecurity linked to the countryʼs Anglophone crisis.
Clergy, women and men religious, and other civilians have periodically been targeted in abductions as violence persists in the region.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
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