Emeritus Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua, one of the most respected voices of the Church in Cameroon, has offered a profound analysis on the growing role of Catholicism in Africa, the root of the Anglophone conflict, and the challenges faced by the faithful amid violence. In an interview with National Catholic Register, the prelate firmly defended that “nothing good can be achieved through evil”, recalling his own kidnapping in 2019 and the years of suffering his region endures.
An African Church that stops being “mission territory”
With more than 30 million inhabitants—and 38% Catholics—Cameroon has gone in a few decades from being guided by European missionaries to being directed almost entirely by local clergy. Esua, ordained in 1971 as the first Catholic priest of the Mbo tribe, has been a direct witness to the change.
He recalled that the transition was not accidental, but the fruit of an ecclesial policy, especially after the Second Vatican Council. He cited the Dutch bishop Jules Peeters, who in 1962 announced that he would step down in ten years to make way for indigenous clergy: “Many missionaries perfectly understood that they had to hand over the Church to the locals”.
When Esua arrived as bishop in Kumbo in 1982, the diocese had only two diocesan priests compared to 23 missionaries. Two decades later, almost all the priests were Cameroonian.
From Paul VI to Francis: Rome's gaze toward Africa
The archbishop evoked Paul VI's historic visit to Uganda in 1969, where the Pope proclaimed: “You Africans are missionaries to yourselves”. That statement, according to Esua, marked a before and after: Africa stopped being seen solely as a recipient and began to assume its role as a mature Church.
With John Paul II—who visited Cameroon twice—the country became an African reference. Benedict XVI continued that pastoral attention. The relationship with Francis has been different: the Pope receives the bishops “by ecclesiastical provinces” and speaks to them frankly, although he asks them “not to quote him”.
A crisis born from the clash between two systems
The so-called Anglophone conflict erupted in 2016, but its roots—according to Esua—go back to the dual colonial heritage: the British system based on traditional authorities and common law, versus the French model, centralized and Napoleonic in character.
Until 1972, the two territories maintained autonomy. Afterward, a process of forced assimilation of the Francophone system began, which progressively excluded Anglophone law, education, and administration.
The situation exploded when the government sent Francophone judges and teachers to the Anglophone areas. The strikes initiated the conflict, and the military response worsened it. The Church tried to mediate, but subsequent attacks on protest leaders frustrated any progress.
“I do not support separatism. I believe the solution is federalism”, the archbishop affirmed.
“Nothing good can be achieved with evil”: his kidnapping in 2019
In 2019, Esua was kidnapped by separatist fighters who controlled roads and held vehicles. The prelate recounted that he spent the night in a camp after ordering the removal of illegal barriers.
He clearly warned his captors:
“You are making people suffer. We cannot achieve anything good with evil.”
He asked them to allow the reopening of schools and recalled that the civilian population is always the first victim of the spiral of violence.
Islam, dialogue, and coexistence
The archbishop explained that, apart from Boko Haram's activity in the north, coexistence with the Muslim community in Cameroon is historic and peaceful. Mixed families and everyday collaboration define that “dialogue of life” which, according to Esua, must be the basis of relations between religions.
The immediate challenge: self-sufficiency and mission
With the drastic drop in economic support from Europe, Esua points out that the African Church must learn to sustain itself: diocesan microfinance, cooperation between strong and weak parishes, and lay formation.
Today, Cameroon sends missionary priests to Europe and the United States. For the archbishop, this is not only “repaying a debt” to those who evangelized Africa, but actively participating in God's plan: “The Church is the hope of the people, especially the poor”.