Interviewed by Sylvestre Ndoumou
After the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI accepted Christian Cardinal Tumi’s resignation on November 17, 2009, Monsignor Samuel Kleda who had been named Coadjutor Archbishop of Douala with right of succession on November 3, 2007, effectively took over the pastoral governance of Douala Cosmopolitan See. L’Effort Camerounais caught up with the new Archbishop to get his viewpoints as he assumes his daunting pastoral duties.
Your Grace, how do you feel as you take over the Archdiocese of Douala from His Eminence Christian Cardinal Tumi?
I am a pastor and Christ has entrusted to me the mission to proclaim the Gospel. As I take over from Cardinal Christian Tumi, I am determined to carry out this mission entrusted to me by Christ in a positive manner. At this moment, I feel that Christ is talking to me as he spoke to the Apostle Peter: “Follow me.” This means that when you are a pastor, you must be ready at anytime to follow Christ. Each day, as a pastor, I have to strive to accomplish this mission the Lord has given me, that is, to proclaim Jesus Christ to the faithful that the Church has entrusted to my care. It is Jesus’ call that I hear at this moment.After you were appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Douala, you were presented to God’s people on January 12, 2008, that is, nearly two years ago. Can we say that you have had the time to know the Archdiocese of Douala well?
True, it is two years since I have been in Douala. During this period, I have become better acquainted with the Archdiocese of Douala because each Sunday, Cardinal Tumi and I, each on his part, go on a pastoral visit to a parish. Such pastoral visits have enabled me to know the Christians, to work closer with priests, and to dialogue with and proclaim the Word of God to Christians. During these visits, the bishop gives doctrine lessons and the people of God ask questions, which results in a fruitful exchange of views. Outside these pastoral visits, I receive many faithful from all walks of life. All these diverse contacts have enabled me to better understand the spiritual, socio-political and the economic problems the people face. I carry in my heart all the concerns of Christ’s lay faithful because they often face many difficult moments in their lives. But as a pastor, there is also a great feeling of joy to be among Christ’s faithful, who love their church and put their faith in Christ Jesus. I am happy that I have found in Douala people of God who are prayerful, who commit themselves to their church, as well as priests who are at the service of Christ’s faithful. However, not all can be perfect but, by God’s grace, my fervent wish is that we, the priests, should work together to spiritually guide God’s people. As you can see, for the past two years, I have been learning and that is the result.
Cardinal Tumi has carried out numerous projects in the Archdiocese of Douala but much more still needs to be done. Have you already taken stock of the challenges that lie ahead of you in the pastoral field?
For a pastor, there is only one essential challenge he faces in his ministry, that is, the proclamation of Jesus Christ and of the Gospel. For me, such a challenge shall only be met when everyone in Douala shall have heard and answered Christ’s call. But this mission is based on several factors: first of all, accompany the priests, who are my closest collaborators, and especially as they are in daily contact with God’s people. Also, the city of Douala is very extensive, and the population is increasing rapidly. We must take this into account when building churches and creating new parishes in the Archdiocese of Douala. We also have to think of setting up infrastructure that will meet the needs of the people in the area of health, education and economic development through CODASC. You therefore have to understand that when we talk these days of proclaiming the Gospel, development should not be forgotten. That is why the Archdiocese of Douala is heavily implicated in the area of development. The main concern in the Archdiocese of Douala is to accompany the youth, who have been left to their own devices; they have no jobs and there are not enough structures that can give them vocational training. These are some of the challenges we have to face because, as the Church, we cannot neglect any of them.
Some Christians are still hesitating to come to you, preferring to look at you from a distance. What message do you have for them?
I did not know that Christians were hesitating to come to me. Since I have been in Douala, I have been going towards everyone and meeting all categories of people, and I welcome everyone who comes to me. As their Archbishop, I go towards them, so the problem must be from their part. As Christians, we should have nothing to fear. I am in their midst as a pastor and a servant. Let those who want to meet me, come to me with no hesitation whatsoever. Let them not fear. I will try, given my limited experience as pastor, to attend to everyone, to give each of them the attention they need. I feel at home in Douala, and nothing frightens me. I will like Christians to feel the same way towards me. Let no one fear to come to me; let us march on together as brothers and sisters.
Your Grace, before we end this interview, do you have a word for priests and apostolic workers of the Archdiocese of Douala?
As you well know, this is the Year of the Priest; a year the Holy Father has set aside for each priest to rediscover his vocation, which is to serve. So, we priests have to allow ourselves to be questioned by our meeting with Christ. This enables us to better hear and answer his call. In my capacity as a priest in Douala, the Lord has entrusted to my pastoral care the mission of absolute fidelity to proclaim His Word. I look for nothing else outside this very exacting mission. I have no personal interest to defend outside this very exacting mission. For each day the Lord has created, I am at the service of his people. That is how we should answer Christ’s call. Of course, as priests we could have differences of opinion but, above all else, what takes priority in all we do is our mission to proclaim Christ to the world. This is the mission Christ himself has entrusted to us. That is why I call on all the priests of Douala Archdiocese that we walk together to proclaim the Word of God.
Do you have a word for Christian Cardinal Tumi?
For the past two years, we have been living together and working hand-in-hand for the wellbeing of our Diocese. We have already shared a lot on the life of the Archdiocese of Douala. I do not have any particular word for him except to express my admiration for him. His life is the life of a pastor who strives to be faithful to his vocation as a priest. We, priests, can only be judged by the way we live our call to serve the Lord. And for Cardinal Tumi, what matters in life is above all his response to the Lord’s call. On this point, I have a great admiration for him.
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