Shortly after the anniversary Mass, L'Effort Camerounais caught up with the Bishop of Kumbo, Mgr George Nkuo, who expressed his happiness, and talked at length about the life of his diocese. Excerpts:
My Lord, how significant is this anniversary to you?
It is a double event for us in Kumbo as we are celebrating 25 years as a diocese and also the 25th anniversary of my predecessor, Mgr Cornelius Esua, who is today Archbishop of Bamenda. We are also thankful to God for blessing this diocese in many ways, especially when it comes to the growth of Christianity and faith.
You are just one year as Bishop of Kumbo. What inroads have you made so far?
My most important priority was to visit all the parishes and to see how best we can carry on the good work that Bishop Esua left behind. I have been very concerned about empowering the people and involving them in the life of the church. I do not really think in terms of inroads, but so far I have mainly observed and set up a few strategies to ensure that together with the Christians of the diocese we can work and act as a team.
As you stand in front of this cathedral today, is there anything that particularly strikes you?
Indeed, I am struck by the foresight and sheer determination of Bishop Jules Peeters, who built this church almost half a century ago. I am simply overwhelmed by its sheer size, especially when one considers the time it was built. It keeps me alert and spurs me to work as hard as those early missionaries who did so much in their days. We cannot afford to lag behind after such enormous effort and sacrifices made by those early missionaries. Their missionary outreach was simply indescribable.
Many Christians around say they would like you to create more parishes and ordain more priests. Do you have such plans?
Those Christians are surely not aware of our situation, for this diocese is already greatly endowed with many parishes and has among the highest number of priests in the country. We have over 80 priests, most of whom are still young and ready to work closely with Christians. I don't know of another diocese that has so many priests as the Kumbo Diocese.
What can you say about allegations that the Catholic Church in Kumbo is highly tribalistic?
That is hardly a fair statement because in Kumbo we have a mixture of priests from many ethnic groups and I believe it is the same case in other dioceses. Those who say such things are people who want to sow seeds of discord in the hearts of our priests. Priesthood is a call from God and if it happens that the majority of those who respond to the call are from this land, it should be considered a blessing to the area. The sons of Nso are not simply absorbed into the Priestly Order because they are from Kumbo, no! Every candidate, regardless of his ethnic origin, must meet the requirements before he can be ordained. No special favours are given to people from Nso. No, that manner of perception is completely false and ill-intentioned.
What is the state of inter-religious dialogue in the diocese?
I think we have a fairly good relationship with the other religions, but of course, we face the problem of sects that are taking away some of our Christians whose faith is not deeply entrenched. That is why one of our new strategies is the deepening of our method of catechising by making catecheses livelier. When Christians are deeply involved in the life of the Church and feel that they really belong, they will have no reason switching over to those sects.
The Nso people are a deeply cultural people. Do you have problems of witchcraft here?
Not at all! Culture and witchcraft are completely two different things. Culture has to do with values. From what I've seen, the traditional values of the people of Nso are exactly the same values that the Church advocates. In this regard, inculturation is a very vibrant and an important aspect of worship in this diocese. This is very helpful to the Church's evangelisation mission.
What message do you have for Christians in Kumbo on this special occasion?
We are celebrating the 25th anniversary of our diocese and I will like them to think about those who sacrificed to plant the seeds of faith in this land and this part of the country. I will like all of us to think about their courage and good example and to strive to carry on as they would have loved us to.
You were priest of the Diocese of Buea when you were named to lead the Church in Kumbo. What is the difference between the Church in Buea and Kumbo?
One major difference is that people in Kumbo do not have lucrative sources of income which makes it difficult for the church to become self-reliant, unlike in Buea where the generosity of Christians towards the Church is something I've always marvelled at. We are teaching the people here to be more self-reliant and I can confidently say that we are making inroads in this direction. However, from the people's determination, it is clear that if they had the means, they would do far more than they are doing at the moment. I will like to mention the enormous sacrifices that Catholic teachers are making in Kumbo. I am very impressed. They remain devoted in spite of the very difficult conditions they are working under.