As shepherd and diplomat, you occupy a rare space where moral counsel and national reflection can meet. A gentle reminder from your office—that a nation’s greatness is measured not by how it prepares for a guest, but by how it treats its people daily—would echo far beyond any ceremony.
Open Letter to the Apostolic Nuncio in Cameroon
“A Shepherd’s Voice in a Season of Awakening”. by M C Folo
Your Excellency,
With profound respect for your sacred mission in Cameroon and gratitude for the Church’s enduring witness in our land, I write with a burden shared quietly by many across the nation.
In recent weeks, the rumor of a possible visit by the Holy Father has stirred an extraordinary transformation. Roads long abandoned are suddenly repaired. Public works once frozen in neglect have resumed. Infrastructure forgotten for years now receives urgent attention.
The people welcome these changes with genuine joy. Yet beneath that joy lies an unavoidable question: if this can be done now, why could it not have been done before?
What this moment reveals is not the discovery of new capacity, but the unveiling of dormant will. The means have long existed. What has too often been absent is sustained commitment.
Your Excellency, the Church does not enter partisan contests. Yet throughout history she has spoken when conscience demanded clarity. She has reminded rulers that power is stewardship, not spectacle; that leadership is service, not ceremony.
At this hour, many Cameroonians hope that your voice—as the Holy Father’s representative—might gently but unmistakably affirm truths that resonate deeply in the Gospel itself:
Development must not be seasonal.
Human dignity must not be event-driven.
Justice must not awaken only when dignitaries arrive.
For years, farmers have struggled along impassable roads to bring food to market. Mothers have journeyed great distances seeking medical care. Children have walked miles to reach classrooms in neglected communities. Entire regions have cried out for peace, equity, and reconciliation. Their suffering did not begin with a rumor, and it will not end with applause.
If a papal visit should take place, may it not become a mirror reflecting temporary polish, but a light exposing enduring responsibility. May it inspire not merely preparation for an audience, but conversion of heart. For the true honor of welcoming the Holy Father lies not in freshly painted curbs, but in renewed commitment to justice, transparency, and the common good.
Your Excellency, this letter is not written in accusation, but in moral urgency. The Church has long stood beside the poor, the marginalized, and the forgotten. At moments such as this, her voice carries a unique grace: it can affirm what many feel yet hesitate to say—that governance must be constant in compassion, not occasional in performance.
As shepherd and diplomat, you occupy a rare space where moral counsel and national reflection can meet. A gentle reminder from your office—that a nation’s greatness is measured not by how it prepares for a guest, but by how it treats its people daily—would echo far beyond any ceremony.
Cameroon stands at a crossroads between appearance and authenticity, between momentary reform and lasting renewal. The people hope that the Church’s presence will help tip the balance toward what endures.
With prayerful respect and steadfast hope.
M.C. Folo
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