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Christian Tumi

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His Eminence
Christian Tumi
Cardinal, Archbishop Emeritus of Douala
Tumi in September 2019.
Tumi in September 2019.
Church Catholic Church
Archdiocese Douala
Appointed 31 August 1991
Term ended 17 November 2009
Predecessor Simon Tonyé
Successor Samuel Kleda
Other post Cardinal-Priest of Santi Martiri dell'Uganda a Poggio Ameno (1988-2021)
Previous posts Bishop of Yagoua (1979–82)
Coadjutor Archbishop of Garoua (1982–84)
Archbishop of Garoua (1984–91)
President of the Cameroon Episcopal Conference (1985–91)
Orders
Ordination 17 April 1966
by Julius Joseph Willem Peeters
Consecration 6 January 1980
by John Paul II
Created cardinal 28 June 1988
by John Paul II
Rank Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born Christian Wiyghan Tumi
15 October 1930
Kikaikelaki, Cameroons
Died 3 April 2021 (aged 90)
Douala, Cameroon
Alma mater University of Fribourg
Motto Me voici je viens faire ta volonté

Christian Wiyghan Tumi (15 October 1930 – 3 April 2021) was a Cameroonian prelate of the Catholic Church who was archbishop of Douala from 1991 to 2009. He was bishop of Yagoua from 1980 to 1982. After serving as coadjutor bishop of Garoua beginning in 1982, he was bishop there from 1984 to 1991. He was made a cardinal 1988. Tumi was the first and so far the only cardinal from Cameroon.[1]

Early life and ordination

Born on 15 October 1930 in Kikaikelaki, a small village near Kumbo, in the Nso clan of the Northwest Region of Cameroon, Tumi studied at local seminaries in Cameroon and Nigeria. He trained as a teacher in Nigeria and London, then earned a licentiate in theology in the Catholic University of Lyon and a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Buéa on 17 April 1966, and then served as a Vicar in Soppo for a year before becoming a professor at Bishop Rogan College's seminary. After studying abroad from 1969 to 1973, he returned to his diocese and was named rector of the seminary in Bambui.

Bishop and cardinal

On 6 December 1979, Tumi was appointed the first bishop of the Diocese of Yagoua.[2] He received his episcopal consecration on 6 January 1980 from Pope John Paul II. On 19 November 1982 he was named archbishop coadjutor of Garoua[3] and he succeeded as archbishop there when his predecessor's resignation was accepted on 17 March 1984.

In 1982 he was elected vice president of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon and in 1985 its president, a post he held until 1991.

Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal on 28 June 1988,[4] assigning him as Cardinal-Priest the title of Santi Martiri dell'Uganda a Poggio Ameno on 28 June 1988. On 6 July 1991 he was named a member of the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers.[5] Tumi was named the Archbishop of Douala on 31 August 1991. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.[6]

Tumi was critical of the government's attempt to suppress Anglophone culture in Cameroon and advocated a federation to allow the Francophone and Anglophone regions to coexist in Cameroon.[7]

In 2009, Tumi led thousands in a march in Douala to protest Cameroon's endorsement of the Maputo Protocol, a women's rights charter promoted by the African Union. Critics of the document believe it will ease restrictions on abortion and promote homosexuality.[8] In a 2007 sermon he denounced child sexual abuse as a scandal and the shame of contemporary society.[9] In 2005, Tumi told an interviewer that the use of condoms as protection against AIDS within marriage "makes sense", though he doubted the Church's prohibition on their use would change.[10]

Tumi was kidnapped on 5 November 2020, and released unharmed on 6 November 2020; his captors released video footage of their interrogation of Tumi.[11][12]

Death

Tumi died in a hospital in Douala on 3 April 2021 in the early hours following an illness.[13] After a video of his corpse in the hospital bed was released on the Internet; authorities denounced it as a violation of privacy and ordered an investigation.[14]

References

  1. Back to citation Foute, Franck (3 April 2021). "Décès de Christian Tumi, premier cardinal camerounais". Jeune Afrique (in French). Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  2. Back to citation Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXII. 1980. p. 252. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  3. Back to citation Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXV. 1983. p. 174. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  4. Back to citation "Concistoro per la Creazione di 24 Nuovi Cardinali nel Palazzo Apostolico Vaticano" (in Italian). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 28 June 1988. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  5. Back to citation Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXIII. 1991. p. 908. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. Back to citation "Elenco degli Em.mi Cardinali che entrano in Conclave secondo il loro rispettivo ordine di precedenza (Vescovi, Presbiteri, Diaconi)" [List of the Eminent Cardinals entering into Conclave according to their respective order of precedence (Bishops, Priests, Deacons)]. Sala Stampa della Santa Sede (in Italian). 18 April 2005. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  7. Back to citation Tumi, Christian (27 January 2020). "Cardinal Tumi says things improving in Cameroon's troubled Anglophone areas". Crux (Interview). Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  8. Back to citation "Marche anti-avortement au Cameroun". Le Figaro (in French). Agence France-Presse. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  9. Back to citation "Les abus sexuels sur les jeunes sont un véritable scandale, et une honte pour notre société". Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  10. Back to citation "Kamerun: Kardinal für Kondome zum Schutz vor Aids in Ehe". Der Standard (in German). 24 October 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  11. Back to citation "Cameroon: Kidnappers free former Archbishop Tumi near Kumbo". BBC News. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  12. Back to citation Atemanke, Jude (9 November 2020). "What Cameroonian Cardinal was Told by His Captors During Nightlong Abduction". ACI Africa. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  13. Back to citation "Archbishop Emeritus of Douala, Christian Cardinal Tumi dies at 90". Algerie9. 3 April 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  14. Back to citation "Cameroon: Investigations opened after video of Cardinal Tumi's corpse goes viral". Journal du Cameroun. Journal du Cameroon. 3 April 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.

Bibliography

Additional sources
  • Jumbam, Martin (2014). My Conversion Journey with Christian Cardinal Tumi. Langaa RPCIG.
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