Działalność misyjna fideidonistów polskich w Kamerunie w latach 1973-1999

Abstract

The anniversaries we celebrated in recent years – the centenary of the Catholi Church in Cameroon (1890-1990), the fortieth anniversary of the edition of the encyclical Fide donum (1957-1997), the twenty-fifth anniversary of Polish Fideidonists in Cameroon (1973-1998) – such anniversaries inspired this attempt to look closer at the missionary work of Polish Fideidonists in Cameroon. From 1973 to 1999 38 Fideidonists left for Cameroon. They were from 13 dioceses: Częstochowa 3, Drohiczyn – 1, Gdansk – 4, Gniezno – 6, Kalisz – 1, Katowice – 5, Koszalin – Kołobrzeg – 1, Lublin – 1, Opole – 1, Pelplin – 1, Poznan – 2, Przemyśl – 11, Tarnów – 1. In total they worked in nine dioceses: Batouri, Bertoua, Doumé-Abong-Mbang, Ebolowa-Kribi, Mbalmayo, Obala, Sangmélima, and Yokadouma. The paper contains some examples and data which illustrate their pastoral work in concrete missions, but it is difficult to sum them up. No generalizations as regards the assessment of the results of evangelization will be true, especially when we use European norms and evaluations. Even those missionaries who devoted many years to live among Cameroon tribes are not able to assess the results of their evangelizational work. The “material fruits” are more apparent: churches, chapels, schools, health centres, and anything that is external. The question about the evaluation of their work is often omitted in the survey.