Interviewed by Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka
At their recent meeting in Yaounde, the bishops of the Central African Region (ACERAC), appointed, and the Holy See approved, the Rector of the St Thomas Aquinas Major seminary in Bambui, Rev. Christian Mofor, as the new Vice Rector of the Catholic University of Central Africa. L’Effort camerounais met with the new Vice Rector for an exclusive interview. Excerpts:
How did you receive the news of your recent appointment?
It was the Archbishop of Bamenda, Mgr Paul Verdzekov, who officially informed me that the Bishops of the Central African sub-region had appointed me as Vice Rector of the Catholic University. I received the news with mixed feelings; I was really shocked that I could be considered for such an appointment; but I accepted it like I have always taught my students, future priests, to always accept any appointments from their Bishops, with obedience and trust in God; and I promised him I was going to do my best to accomplish whatever duties are given to me at the Catholic University.
What actually is the job of a Rector?
To be Rector of a higher institution like the Major Seminary, is actually to be at the head of the administration of the institution; you are in charge of every administrative aspect of that institution; you coordinate every aspect and department of the institution. It is very challenging and very difficult, but I think that if one makes oneself always available, the responsibilities are always carried out in a spirit of collaboration with the other members of the administrative staff. So to be Rector is to be an administrator, coordinator and harmoniser, and that is the function I am called up to continue in Yaounde as assistant.
This looks like quite a heavy responsibility.Don't you think the increased workload may affect your primary functions as priest?
Not at all! In fact, as a priest, you are expected to be called up anywhere for service and you render your services as a priest wherever you are. It is true that there are so many things you have to do as a priest, but you exercise your ministry wherever you are called up by the Church. The workload actually increases, but I think that God, who calls you, gives you the grace and strength to accomplish whatever you are asked to do by the Church.
As Rector at the Major Seminary, you were in charge of moulding future priests, and now you shall be concentrating on the intellectual upbringing of your students. Do you feel comfortable with that?
I will be focussing on the intellectual formation of the students who are in the Catholic University in Yaounde, but I will also like to point out that there are equally some students in this university who are candidates for the priesthood; so I do not think that I will only have to concentrate on their intellectual formation. Somehow, I will be doing at a little lesser scale in Yaounde, what I have been doing here at the seminary in Bambui; as I am aware of the fact that a university is a university and the seminary is a seminary.
As Rector, tell us what it takes to be a priest.
The Church has clear indications and prescriptions for the formation of candidates to the Catholic Priesthood and I think that is what my collaborators and I have been using in the formation of the priests during the past three years that I have been Rector and member of the teaching staff of the Saint Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary Bambui. First of all, the candidate who qualifies and presents himself to his Bishop for formation, must have the basic qualification required for entry into any state university in Cameroon; something a good number of people don't know; a minimum of five points at the GCE A/Levels, and we also insist on an A/Level pass in Religious Studies. Then the student must be morally upright, with recommendations from either the parish priest or, if possible, from the vocations commissions of our parishes. Now in the seminary, after the candidate has fulfilled these conditions and completed his course at the Vianney Spiritual Year Centre in Bafut, we then focus on four key pillars as required by the Church. We intensify the formation of the candidate under moral formation, intellectual formation, spiritual formation and human formation; and mind you, the four pillars are taken together. None is considered more important than the other as they are the four pillars which make the house stand; so these are the pillars considered by the Church for the formation of priests.
Father, there is increasing talk of falling moral standards among priests. What do you think accounts for this; and what would you recommend as a solution?
Well, I don't think I will have explanation on what may be the cause of falling moral standards in the priesthood like you say; but it is a pity and it is regrettable that notice has been made as such. The only thing I can say is that we continue to do our best to form priests according to the mind of the Church and according to the mind of Christ. After ordinations, the situation becomes different as human beings may reveal their true selves at moments conducive to them. That is why I say that it is regrettable, but I plead that we should not only focus on the falling moral standards but that Christ's Lay Faithful should continue to pray for our priests, for the candidates who are in formation centres and should continue to pray for priests who are charged with the heavy responsibility of training future priests.
Do you have a word for the seminarians you'll be leaving behind and to priests as a whole?
To my seminarians, it is hard to think that I will leave them but I promise that I will, from time to time, come back to visit them when possible. I have always insisted that they take their priestly formation seriously and I again repeat the same advice. We live in a challenging society within which if you do not train yourselves adequately now, it will be difficult tomorrow when you are already a priest. To my colleague priests in the Archdiocese of Bamenda, I say I am not leaving them for I will always be with them in meetings, recollections and retreats and will always pray for them as I am sure they too will always pray for me.
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