Christians feast Ascension with calls for peace and tolerance
Thursday, 10th May 2018 has been observed as a public holiday in Cameroon as Christians celebrate the feast of the ascension, believed to be the day Jesus Christ went up to heaven body and soul.
During a mass to mark the Christian feast celebrated at the Mary Queen of Victory Cathedral in Yaoundé, Archbishop of Yaoundé, Archbishop Jean Mbarga insisted on the need to further cultivate the values of peace, love of neighbour and peaceful coexistence.
The homily during the feast that comes 40 days after Easter was tied to the context of the socio-political crisis in the North West and South West regions.
The man of God urged every Christian to consider Man as a brother or sister. He urged communities to accept tolerance and solidarity in trials.
To him every national, irrespective of his region of origin, should be called a Cameroonians and not “Francophone, Anglophone, Northerner, Southerners” or other names the portray ethnicity or discrimination.
Christians were reminded that it is in accepting each other that we witness the love of Christ. Within the context on the current crisis Mgr Jean Mbarga recommended community support through sharing, prayers, mutual assistance in rebuilding sustainable peace and prosperity in the fatherland.
The respect of the administrative authorities and the institutions which they embody particularly within crisis areas was described as imperative.
The practice of corruption, tribalism, selfishness and the unbridled quest for individual success at the expense of the general interest was heavily castigated during the mass as deterrents to living together.
Elvis Teke
