Southern Cameroons Crisis: Archbishop Nkea reflects on the toll of war

Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea of the Archdiocese of Bamenda, Cameroon, has lamented war’s devastating effects and called on all nations to do everything possible to preserve peace in their countries and communities. His appeal reflects his experience of a decade-old conflict in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions.

In a recent interview with Vatican News in Rome, Archbishop Nkea emphasised that peace, once lost, is difficult to regain. He urged everyone to work hard to preserve peace in their communities and in the world.

“Peace is priceless. Peace is something that you cannot buy with money. Peace is something that when you lose, it is not easy at all to regain, and so with all these, I encourage all those who are in peaceful countries to do everything possible not to lose the peace; and those who are in war-torn countries to work very hard to regain peace in their communities. After all, Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace,” said the Bamenda prelate, who is also President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (C.E.N.C.).

The Anglophone Crisis – how it started

Archbishop Nkea recounted how the Anglophone Crisis began in Cameroon: In late 2016, lawyers and teachers in the English-speaking regions led protests to voice concerns about marginalisation by the French-speaking majority.

Cameroon is a bilingual country with two official languages. About 80 per cent of its population speaks French, while the remaining 20 per cent speaks English. For decades, Francophones and Anglophones had lived in ‘relative harmony.’

War and its effects on education

The protests by lawyers and teachers, initially peaceful, soon escalated. By 2017, the Crisis had become an armed conflict between government forces and separatist fighters seeking independence for the English-speaking regions. About ten years later, neither side has achieved a decisive victory. In the meantime, the protracted conflict has taken a heavy toll on human life, caused widespread Internal Displacement, and forced some citizens to flee as refugees.

“For about four or five years, children were all banned from going to school, which was a big big disadvantage to our children,” explained Archbishop Nkea. Nevertheless, he added that schools were gradually reopening, allowing children to return to learning.

Pope Leo XIV’s Catechism of Peace

Archbishop Nkea said Pope Leo XIV’s April 2026 Apostolic Visit to Bamenda greatly boosted efforts to promote peace in the country. The Pope met with religious, traditional, civic and community leaders at St. Joseph’s Cathedral of Bamenda. In his homily at Mass for the faithful of the Archdiocese of Bamenda, the Holy Father reiterated his message of peace.

To preserve the Pope’s message of peace, Archbishop Nkea said he had compiled a new pastoral book inspired by the Pope’s Apostolic Visit to Bamenda.

The book is titled “The Catechism of Pope Leo XIV on Peace.” It contains 100 questions on peace, with answers drawn directly from the speeches and homily that the Pope delivered in Bamenda on 16 April 2026.

Source: Vatican News