Members of the Catholic Men Association (CMA) in Diocese of Buea, Cameroon, are in solidarity with Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi, who has been under attacks since he started governing the Cameroonian Diocese, first as Apostolic Administrator in December 2019.
Expressing their support for Bishop Bibi in a Thursday, February 8 statement, the men expressed their awareness of “the plans of the distractors of the Diocese in bringing your leadership down and to misguide the people of God in this Diocese.”
“We are also well grounded on the spreading of false information about your administration since 2019 when you were still the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Buea,” they added.
Attacks on Bishop Michael Bibi started when, as Apostolic Administrator, he made administrative changes at the Diocese-owned Catholic University Institute of Buea (CUIB) by appointing Professor Victor Julius Ngoh as Vice Chancellor, a position previously held by Father George Nkeze Jingwa.
Members of the University Council disapproved of the administrative change and dragged the Cameroonian Bishop to court. Since then, Bishop Bibi, who started his Episcopal Ministry in March 2017 as Auxiliary Bishop of Cameroon’s Bamenda Archdiocese has been faced with a plethora of criticisms and attacks.
In their statement, the CMA members said they are “knowledgeable enough of the present frictions in the Diocese created by both Priest and Lay Faithful in tarnishing the way you have chosen in shepherding we your flocks.”
“All these ruining, adulteration, defilement and sullying of the present dispensation of your administration are masterminded by those who have chosen the path of the devil in these modern times of heresies as masterminded by Lucifer himself,” they further said, adding, “The Catholic Men Association (CMA) strongly dissociates itself with this group of persons.”
The men lauded Bishop Bibi for his resilience saying that despite the attacks, “your unwavering commitment to the wellbeing and development of the people of God in this Diocese, both physical and spiritual, have not been hampered.”
“It is on the basis of these that the CMA wishes to appreciate your administration and be rest assured that we are strongly behind you with our total support and collaboration to move this Diocese ahead,” they emphasized.
“We are therefore soliciting you to continue in this same light while praying God Almighty changes the heart of our distractors so that they too can join in the train of building this our beloved Diocese,” the men added.
“Our church is so lucky to have you,” they said about Bishop Bibi, who has, amid the controversies and attacks, received support from the Vatican, Catholic Bishops in Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province, and members of the Clergy of his Episcopal See.
In their statement, the CMA members also lauded Bishop Bibi “for being such a great example of living a life of faith.”