Douala, 10 October, 2025 / 9:25 PM
ANALYSIS: Church leaders in the Central African country have criticized the endemic corruption that has undermined the nation’s standard of living.
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles from Africa.
A rich country rendered poor by decades-long mismanagement, Cameroon is facing a presidential election on Oct. 12, and leaders of the Catholic Church have emerged as vocal opponents of the status quo.
A 92-year-old incumbent, Paul Biya, is seeking reelection in the Central African country of 30 million where the median age is 19. A Catholic whose father was a catechist, Biya came to power as prime minister in 1975 — 50 years ago. He was elected president in 1982, a post he has held ever since. If the country were well governed, that might be fine. But it’s not.
Endemic corruption and outright embezzlement are ruinous habits of the political class, undermining the entire nation’s standard of living, according to the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) in a fierce January letter signed by all 36 bishops.
Yet, what I witnessed in the country’s largest city, Douala, Central Africa’s most important port, was an extraordinary community of faith signified by prophetic leadership, thriving parishes, and multiple Catholic spiritualities animating belief.
Truth Telling
The nation’s economic development has stagnated over the past 20 years, according to international data: Some four out of 10 Cameroonians lived in extreme poverty in 2022.
“Both John Paul II [1985 and 1995] and Benedict XVI [2009] came to us on pastoral visits because it was a stable country and, in Central Africa, the Church of Cameroon occupies an important place with a particularly dynamic faith,” recounted Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala. The fact that President Biya is a Catholic also mattered.
But the country has not achieved the promise that, for example, its natural and human resources would normally deliver to citizens.
Speaking French, the archbishop explained to the Register, “We use statistics given by the state — on unemployment, the degradation of roads, lack of electricity and clean water — so the government is fully aware of the reality, the disasters, facing our people. But they refuse to convert because they are afraid of losing power. That’s the problem.”
Some 12 candidates are arrayed against President Biya but no one appears to have the national reputation or organization to defeat him. So, the Church steps into the void.
Without endorsing a specific candidate, the NECC took an unusual approach: It published the profile of an ideal president, someone deeply engaged with the public, traveling the nation, bringing a selfless commitment to justice and national well-being. Archbishop Kleda published his own critique in an August pastoral letter.
Through the Church’s multiple pronouncements this year, the archbishop explains, “We are warning the power and hoping they come to consciousness to convert, in the Christian sense, to serve the people.” Is there risk in so publicly challenging the government?
“The day I was ordained, I accepted [that I might have] to be a martyr. Therefore, I must speak the truth,” the archbishop, 66, replied solemnly. “Like Jesus, the way he reacted to injustice in his time, that’s how I act today, before injustices in my country. I do this because I follow Jesus Christ.”
Parish Life
Every Sunday, Archbishop Kleda visits one of the archdiocese’s 88 parishes. On Sept. 28, the destination was Saint Marc de la Cité des Palmiers. The number of faithful has doubled since he took charge in 2009; he has managed the construction of 46 new churches and St. Jerome Catholic University.
From the moment he unfolded his 6-foot-5 frame from the car at St. Marc’s, the archbishop was surrounded: by dance and incense, babies and seminarians, blessings and songs. The circular nave and balcony overflowed with more than 1,000 parishioners, together to celebrate Mass and witness two sacraments, Holy Communion and confirmation, being bestowed on some 90 youths and adults.
The archbishop’s homily meditated on the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, connecting the Gospel reading to Cameroon: “The rich close their hearts — close themselves — because wealth blinds them to reality. This is the situation we live today.”
Throughout the liturgy, worship was gleefully punctuated by a boisterous choir singing in French, English, local dialects and Latin, accompanied by xylophones, drums and shaking gourds.
After Mass, to thank the archbishop for his visit, parishioners and friends danced up the main aisle with a parade of gifts, receiving blessings from the clergy as a brigade of altar servers handled bags of rice, cans of oil, plates piled with pineapples, branches of fresh plantains, chickens, four goats, and a huge pig.
Later, the church secretary explained that goods are brought to the archdiocese, then distributed to seminarians, the elderly, and poor families. It’s a compelling, efficient example of a community sharing its wealth under the stewardship of a trusted leader.
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Another communitarian project advanced by the archbishop is his medicinal garden, where ostriches, ducks, hens and a regal peacock flourish among plants with beneficial properties.
“I know how plants work,” he says. “The effect of using plants. The importance of alternative healers cannot be overstated. They are there with the people and they practice healing through different compositions of plants. People sometimes prefer to go to the healers.”
During the COVOD-19 health crisis, Archbishop Kleda made international news with natural medicine he developed to treat symptoms.
Many Charisms
Throughout my week in Douala, I met so many men and women religious, missionaries from historical religious orders, consecrated laypeople, and dedicated youth groups.
Augustinian Sister Honorine, 36, helped catechize the youngsters at St. Marc’s. Her face lit with a giant smile when I asked how she perceived our Augustinian Holy Father: “With immense joy!” she affirmed. “We hope he comes to Cameroon.”
Sister Honorine grew up near the capital of Yaoundé, where she said the Catholic Church is just as strong as in Douala, where she lives in a community of 10 women, including three sisters from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Together they teach Catholic primary school.
Playing in the church courtyard, girls wearing matching blue dresses and veils belong to the Cadets of Mary. “We pray the Rosary together every weekend,” explained Patricia, 15. “We try to walk in Mary’s footsteps.”
Across town, members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit members, known as the Spiritans, maintain a chapel and a comfortable guest house. They were among the country’s first missionaries, from France’s Alsace region. Doaula’s first two apostolic vicars were Spiritans who led from 1932 to 1955.
Christianity in Africa
Cameroon suffered colonial exploitation from Germany, France, and Great Britain. (The colonial legacy shows its rot in the Anglophone Crisis, an ongoing armed conflict between the English-speaking northwest and southwest provinces and the Francophone central government).
Although Christianity often came to these lands at the same time as foreign military forces, l'Abbé Serge Eboa, chancellor of the Douala Archdiocese since 2022, provided an excellent account of why faith is not synonymous with colonial oppression.
“African people were people of faith even before evangelization. Priests and bishops brought the Catholic dimension to people who already had faith. So, people were quickly convinced of the importance of the Gospel, of Jesus. African traditional religion and the Catholic Church make sense together. The Catholic message catches.”
He continued, “Today, people are looking in particular for the Catholic approach because we give knowledge and Christian values, which transform a society that is going adrift. People come. You see, at whatever Mass, 12:30 p.m. on a weekday, the cathedral is full. People understand the importance of Church.”
“African traditional religions are disappearing a bit,” the priest observed.
However, “dechristianization comes to us from the West. There are some intellectuals who come from the United States and other Western countries who say we must return to traditional sources,” Father Eboa explained. They claim the Christian religion “cheated them” and replaced indigenous traditions so Christianity should be rejected, “but this is perverse,” reported Father Eboa.
“Jesus Christ is important in our life. We need him everywhere we are, regardless of traditions. If the Church is destroyed, the world is in a state of eternal damnation,” he said.
Leaving the chancellor’s office, I noticed a portrait of St. Josemaría Escrivá high on the wall. Is the Opus Dei active in Cameroon? Yes, it has study centers in Douala and Yaoundé as well as a program helping prepare people for work in the hospitality sector.
Father Eboa met the work of Opus Dei in Douala 24 years ago. He obtained a doctorate in biblical theology in Rome at the prelature’s Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. “Opus Dei has helped me a lot. Its spirituality is very strong — sanctifying work. It has helped me be a better diocesan priest,” he reflected.
Election This Sunday
President Biya made his first public appearance of the campaign on Oct. 7 at a rally in the country’s far north where some 20% of the voters live. It’s also a Muslim-majority region.
The two leading candidates gaining ground are both Muslims from this region. They were presidential allies — government ministers — until last June when they resigned to run.
Archbishop Kleda said, “My wish and the wish of the Church is that the election be conducted without fraud and with transparency. Our prayer is for peace.”
“And we want a better future,” he added. “Something much better.”
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register (NCR), ACI Africa's partner
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