"In Cameroon, families face many difficulties." Precisely for this reason, the Church is praying for them, in order to keep "the meaning of marriage and the family" alive. Msgr. Samuel Kleda, Archbishop of Douala and President of the CNTC (National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon), said this at the 40th Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops of Cameroon, which focused on the theme "the family in the Cameroonian context" and ended Saturday at the John XXIII Centre in Yaounde.
"We must therefore, illuminate all these values by the Gospel for the family to respond to its vocation," Msgr. Kleda continued, explaining that "they will not discuss doctrinal concepts during their work, but see how to effectively proclaim the Gospel of the family and determine pathways of accompaniment of these cells, at a time where they are prey to many upheavals and threats."
To the Minister of Promotion of Women and the Family, Marie-Thérèse Abena Ondo, the president of CNTC said that the Catholic Church is reaching out to the government "in support of the family because of the role it plays in the education and training of citizens" and because "the future of the State and the Church depends on it."
The importance of the family as "the fundamental cell of society" was highlighted by Msgr. Jean Mbarga, Metropolitan Archbishop of Yaounde, who called "not to wait for crises to think or to strengthen it." "We must protect the families–he said and continued–the Gospel reinforces this vision of family based on marriage, fertility, and the sacredness of children and life." This was echoed by Msgr. Bruno Ateba Edo, Bishop of Maroua-Mokolo, who reiterated that the family occupies "a very important place in our society", while recalling the family groups who, in the north of the country, are suffering the violence of the extremists of Boko Haram.
