Christian Wiyghan Tumi (15 October 1930 – 2 April 2021) was a Cameroonian prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

who was archbishop of

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the com ...

from 1991 to 2009. He was bishop of

Yagoua Yagoua is a town and commune in the Far North Province of Cameroon. It is the capital of the department of Mayo-Danay. Administrative structure Localities are:: Climate Yagoua has a hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert ...

from 1980 to 1982. After serving as coadjutor bishop of

Garoua Garoua or Garua (Fula: Garwa 𞤺𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢) is a port city and the capital of the North Region of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. A thriving centre of the textiles and cotton industries, the city has approximately 1,285,000 inhabita ...

beginning in 1982, he was bishop there from 1984 to 1991. He was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

1988. Tumi was the first and so far the only cardinal from Cameroon.

Early life and ordination

Born on 15 October 1930 in Kikaikelaki, a small village near

Kumbo Kumbo, also known as Kimbo, is the second-largest city in the North West Province of Cameroon and the capital of Bui Division. It lies about 2000m above sea level and is situated approximately 110 km away from Bamenda (the provincial capital ...

, in the Nso clan of the Northwest Region of Cameroon, Tumi studied at local seminaries in Cameroon and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He trained as a teacher in Nigeria and London, then earned a licentiate in theology in the

Catholic University of Lyon The Catholic University of Lyon (''Université Catholique de Lyon''), or the Lyon Catholic University also known as the Catholic Institute of Lyon (''Institut catholique de Lyon''), is a private university based in Lyon, France. History The Cat ...

and a doctorate in philosophy at the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisi ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Buéa on 17 April 1966, and then served as a

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

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

. 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 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 Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

made him a cardinal on 28 June 1988, assigning him as

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

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. Tumi was named the Archbishop of Douala on 31 August 1991. He was one of the

cardinal electors A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

who participated in the

2005 papal conclave The 2005 papal conclave was convened to elect a new pope following the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. After his death, the cardinals of the Catholic Church who were in Rome met and set a date for the beginning of the conclave to ele ...

that elected

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

. 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. In 2009, Tumi led thousands in a march in

to protest Cameroon's endorsement of the Maputo Protocol, a women's rights charter promoted by the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

. Critics of the document believe it will ease restrictions on abortion and promote homosexuality. In a 2007 sermon he denounced

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

as a scandal and the shame of contemporary society. 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. 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.

Death

Tumi died in hospital in Douala on 2 April 2021 following an illness. After a video of his corpse in the hospital bed was released on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

; authorities denounced it as a violation of privacy and ordered an investigation.

References

;Additional sources *

External links

* * 1930 births 2021 deaths Cameroonian Roman Catholic archbishops Cameroonian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II People from Northwest Region (Cameroon) Roman Catholic archbishops of Douala Roman Catholic archbishops of Garoua Roman Catholic bishops of Yagoua {{africa-RC-bishop-stub