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Catholic church burned,

priests and religious
sister kidnapped in war-
torn Cameroon

Displaced people fleeing the war in Cameroon/ Public Domain

By CNA Staff

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 18, 2022 / 13:10

pm

Gunmen set a Catholic church on fire and

kidnapped five priests, one religious
sister, and two lay people in western
Cameroon, where a civil war has been
raging since 2017.

The Catholic bishops of the Bamenda

Ecclesiastical Province released a
statement following the Sept. 16 attack on
St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Nchang,
Mamfe Diocese.

“It was with great shock and utter horror

that we, the bishops (of the BAPEC)
learned of the burning down of the St.
Mary's Catholic Church, Nchang ... and
the kidnapping of five priests, one
religious sister, and two lay faithful by
unknown gunmen,” the statement said.

The bishops said they “strongly condemn

all these attacks against the Church and
her Ministers and we appeal to those who
have taken the priests, the nun, and the
Christians in Nchang to release them
without further delay.”

“We insist on this because this act has

now crossed the red line and we must say
that 'enough is enough,’” read the
statement.

Cameroon has been embroiled in a civil

war known as the “Anglophone Crisis” in
which armed separatists from the
Anglophone regions of the country in the
Northwest and Southwest have taken
part in an uprising against government
forces. Both sides have been accused
of atrocities, including the murder and
torture of civilians. 

The conflict has killed thousands and

displaced as many as 500,000 since 2014.

On Sept. 6, suspected
militant separatists opened fire on a bus
in Muyuka, killing at least six civilians. 

In their statement, the bishops said that

the Catholic Church has increasingly been
targeted by attackers.

“A wave of persecutions against the

hierarchy of the Church is now the new
game of the “Struggle,” and all kinds of
threat messages are sent out against
missionaries who have surrendered their
lives to work for the people,” read the
bishops’ statement, which noted that
Presbyterian and Baptist churches have
also been targeted.

About two-thirds of Cameroonians

practice Christianity, while 25–30% are
Muslim. 

Tags: Catholic News, Civil War, Cameroon,

Catholic Church in Cameroon

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