Divergent views on Killings in NW & SW:

Do Anglophone and Francophone Bishops read the same Bible?

-While the one talks of “genocide”, the other talks of violence

The Roman Catholic Bishops of Cameroon are no longer reading from the same script on the Southern Cameroons crisis. Two divergent views have recently emerged from two camps within the National Episcopal Conference following the massive killings of Ambazonians by government troops deployed to the Anglophone regions.

                Three days after the sad events on October 1 , the bishops of the Bamenda Episcopal Province spoke of “genocide”, “ethnic cleansing” and “irresponsible use of weapons against unarmed Southern Cameroons civilians “.

                The Anglophone Bishops enclosed their statement in a press release that was made public after a meeting of the Bishops chaired by His Lordship Bishop George Nkuo, the Bishop of the Kumbo Diocese, who is also president of the Bamenda Episcopal Province.

                But by some strange happenstance, this position of the Anglophone Bishops was not to the taste of their Francophone colleagues, who under the banner of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon issued another statement on the same events in Southern Cameroons. The Bishops talked simply of violence.

                “We bishops from Cameroon strongly condemn the violence, from whichever source, that has rocked the nation,” read the statement of the NEC issued on 6 October 2017.

                However, the Archbishop of Douala, Samuel Kleda, later in an interview with RFI, attempted a clarification of this position of the NEC.

                “When we say that we denounce the violence with our last energy, it is because there have been deaths. We denounce this with the last strength of energy. It is certain that the conditions are radicalized, but we must see the interest of the country! That’s why in our letter, we called for unity, “ Kleda said.

                This divergent position of Anglophone and Francophone Bishops appears rather intriguing to observers, some of whom have wondered aloud if the Bishops read from the same Bible.

                The National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon is an association of bishops. The body does not have a legal capacity that allows it to have authority over bishops. It was created to ensure that the Roman Catholic Bishops speak with one voice.           The Anglophone bishops realized that their francophone colleagues were not standing by the truth and took a stand.