Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Yaounde (Agenzia Fides ) - "We thank God for this moment of joy he has given the Church of Cameroon", says Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, in a statement released by Fides Agency with regards to the release of the two Italian Fidei Donum priests, Don Gianantonio Allegri and Don Giampaolo Marta, and the Canadian religious, Sister Gilberte Bussier of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Montreal, released on the night of 31 May and 1 June.
The Cardinal was able to meet the kidnapped in Yaoundé, where he is preparing to leave for Rome after the conclusion of his pastoral visit in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. "They were excited and happy and I must say, in good physical and psychological condition. Certainly the fact that they were always together helped them to support each other", said the Cardinal. "This was a moment we hoped for - he adds - but at the same time unexpected, we had no inkling of a release in these days. It was a welcome surprise and above all a grace. They themselves told me: we could hear the prayer of the Church accompanied us and we hoped and had faith that the release could happen".
With regards to the identity of the kidnappers, Cardinal Filoni says: "investigation is in the hands of the civil authorities who maintain an understandable reticence. "The two priests and religious were kidnapped on April 4 in the Diocese of Maroua - Mokolo, in the north of Cameroon (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 02/06/2014)
