Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya, is, since April 2022, the President of the Episcopal Conference of Cameroon and titular of the Archdiocese of Bamenda, the capital of the Anglophone regions, tormented for more than seven years now by very serious tensions involving separatist armed groups and the army.
He is one of the three African bishops who are members of the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod (the other two are Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, C.S.Sp., Archbishop of Bangui, Central African Republic and Mgr. Gabriel Mbilingi, C.S.Sp., Archbishop of Lubango, Angola).
Born in Widikum, in the middle of the Anglophone area, he represents for his country and for the African continent, a figure known for his dynamism, pastoral commitment and constant work for peace and dialogue in his tribulated lands.
Through him we can enter the reality of Cameroon and Africa and better understand the meaning of the Synod for the faithful and the individuals there.
Monsignor Nkea, let us start with your impression after the first weeks of the first phase of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops…
“I would start by emphasising that this Synod can boast of excellent organisation and everything works and flows perfectly.
Compared to others in which I have participated, this one undoubtedly has its own very evident strength and structure. It is certainly a good sign of collaboration and brotherhood”. How did the Church in Cameroon welcome this new formula and the discussion on synodality?
“The church in Cameroon received the news and the process of the Synod on Synodality with great joy, especially because the concept of synodality is very close to our culture, to the African culture where all the members of the house talk about the things of the family and address the most important issues together.
We have been working on this issue for three years. We have all been involved at diocesan, national and continental level and we have done it almost naturally because for us it did not sound strange or far from our everyday life”.
And how have the people of Cameroon experienced and are experiencing the synodal process?
“I must say that there was great participation at diocesan and national level. The Church is our home and it was important that everyone felt it was theirs. To tell the truth, I don’t think much will change after the Synod closes, precisely because, in a way, as I told you before, synodality is something we are already living.
More than structural changes, therefore, we expect as a great result a greater participation of the people in the life of the Church at all levels. And I can confirm that this can already be seen: many churches in Africa and in our country are structured in such a way that we start from the bottom, first the people, the grassroots communities, the missions, then the parish, the diocese and the bishops’ conference, to take any decision we start from the small ecclesial realities, everyone is involved.
In a way, we can say that this synod is very ‘African’. Participation starts from the bottom, that is how Africa is’.
Is there expectation at home for developments in the Synod? Are the people of the faithful informed, are they following?
“Every day, my diocesan communication office follows and reports on the synod press briefings, updating, through our sites, the developments of the assemblies. The Cameroonian faithful await with hope, even if sometimes, due to false and unverified news, they receive information that does not correspond to the truth, and fears or doubts may be spread that, in reality, do not make sense. The work of our communication offices, therefore, is very important”.
This is the first Synod where the participants are not only bishops, what do you think?
“I am a canonist, according to the canon the Synod in the Roman Catholic Church is of the bishops, we do not have synodal assemblies. This, therefore, is an absolute novelty that we are all experiencing. We live this novelty day by day and wait to observe the fruits it will bring”.
Speaking of Africa, beyond the many qualified presences, is the African voice more heard in this Synod?
“It is heard very much. Our contribution is decisive and we have much more voice and representation. Africa is a major player in the Synod, not only in terms of presence and voices, it has a leading role and this is also evident from the fact that it has 67 delegates out of the 364 from around the world.
For the first time then we have 10 extra delegates, lay or non-bishops who have the right to vote, these are great opportunities for us. I think it is very important that we make our voice heard because it is an opportunity given to us by God to participate in the universal Church.
Moreover, the method of the round tables gives everyone the opportunity to speak not just once or twice, but as many times as they want, in a sense everyone is forced to speak by the format of the meetings themselves”.
Monsignor Nkea, you are the Archbishop of Bamenda, the capital of the Anglophone regions of Cameroon, one of the most unstable and problematic areas in Africa, how can this Synod speak to your people, to your country, and what contribution can it make to pacification and reconciliation?
“Synodality implies dialogue, discussion, moving together. If we look at the conflict that has been engulfing the Anglophone regions of Cameroon for seven years now, we understand that at the root of it is a lack of mutual understanding.
Synodality, therefore, is a great help, especially for those countries that experience conflicts within themselves because it opens up new horizons and new forms of dialogue and conversation. We do not depend on imagination or human speculation but every conversation is guided by the Spirit. This great innovation that the Synod offers us will greatly help conflict situations.
To foster peace in Cameroon, we are working together with other religious denominations and faiths such as Muslims, Protestants, Pentecostals, and none of us would dream of approaching them with a sense of superiority or inferiority.
On the contrary, we approach others recognising them as brothers and sisters. This is what the Synod and synodality does. To sit down and dialogue in the search for peace is the basis of all endeavours”.
Explain in more detail about the influence of the Africans on the Synod Assembly, please
“One of the biggest contributions that Africa brought to this Synod is the idea of small Christian communities. If we don’t go back to small Christian communities, all this about broad-based consultation, getting everybody involved, is a pipe dream […] When you are looking at those Small Christian Communities, you’re looking at families and no one is left behind.
That’s why Africa opted for the image of Church as a family, not a tent. I think this is something you see. At the end of this meeting, nobody talked about a tent anymore. We’re all about family. This is one of the big things that Africa brought on board, that in Church is the family of God.
Another contribution that Africa brought up within this synod was our view on the teaching of the Church, on the human person, and human sexuality. In Africa, we understand marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and anything short of that is witchcraft.
This is something we said very strongly. We cannot be talking about sensitivities and orientations within the Church setting when this is what the Gospel says. This is what the teaching of the Church has said all along and this is what various cultures believe.
Did you feel you were listened to and your views taken on board?
Oh, yes. We were taken on board very seriously — very, very seriously. I’m very, very happy, especially with this aspect of the Church’s teaching on the human person and sexuality. It was a big concern for Africa. The fact that we moderated it and took out certain words that were very political, I think we are happy with that.
