Christian Tumi

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]

His Eminence

Christian Tumi
Archbishop Emeritus of Douala
Tumi in September 2019.
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ArchdioceseDouala
SeeDouala
Appointed31 August 1991
Term ended17 November 2009
PredecessorSimon Tonyé
SuccessorSamuel Kleda
Other post(s)Cardinal-Priest of Santi Martiri dell'Uganda a Poggio Ameno (1988-2021)
Orders
Ordination17 April 1966
by Julius Joseph Willem Peeters
Consecration6 January 1980
by Pope John Paul II
Created cardinal28 June 1988
by Pope John Paul II
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born
Christian Wiyghan Tumi

(1930-10-15)15 October 1930
Kikaikelaki, Cameroons
Died3 April 2021(2021-04-03) (aged 90)
Douala, Cameroon
Previous post(s)
Alma materUniversity of Fribourg
MottoMe voici je viens faire ta volonté
Coat of armsChristian Tumi's coat of arms
Styles of
Christian Cardinal Tumi
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeeDouala

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
Cardinal Tumi Grand Dialogue (cropped)

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]

Cardinal Tumi Grand Dialogue

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 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. Foute, Franck (3 April 2021). "Décès de Christian Tumi, premier cardinal camerounais". Jeune Afrique (in French). Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  2. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXII. 1980. p. 252. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  3. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXV. 1983. p. 174. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  4. "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. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXIII. 1991. p. 908. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. "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. Tumi, Christian (27 January 2020). "Cardinal Tumi says things improving in Cameroon's troubled Anglophone areas". Crux (Interview). Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  8. "Marche anti-avortement au Cameroun". Le Figaro (in French). Agence France-Presse. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  9. "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. "Kamerun: Kardinal für Kondome zum Schutz vor Aids in Ehe". Der Standard (in German). 24 October 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  11. "Cameroon: Kidnappers free former Archbishop Tumi near Kumbo". BBC News. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  12. Atemanke, Jude (9 November 2020). "What Cameroonian Cardinal was Told by His Captors During Nightlong Abduction". ACI Africa. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  13. "Archbishop Emeritus of Douala, Christian Cardinal Tumi dies at 90". Algerie9. 3 April 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  14. "Cameroon: Investigations opened after video of Cardinal Tumi's corpse goes viral". Journal du Cameroon. 3 April 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
Additional sources
  • Jumbam, Martin (2014). My Conversion Journey with Christian Cardinal Tumi. Langaa RPCIG.
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