Pope Francis is truly considering complete closed down of the 163 parishes in Catholic Diocese of Ahiara in Imo State over the extended emergency created by arrangement of Peter Okpalaeke as Bishop.
Okpalaeke's arrangement four years back after the destruction of Bishop Victor Chikwe has been energetically opposed by Reverend Fathers of Mbaise extraction and the Laity, prompting a stalemate.
Ahiara Cathedral and the Bishop's Court have stayed safely guarded with no one to control Holy Communion from that point onward.
A key figure at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria trusted in one of our reporters the Pope would be left with no decision than to use the enormous sticks if the stalemate proceeds.
The source stated: "What is going on in Ahiala is an awesome attack incomprehensible in the historical backdrop of Catholicism in Nigeria and Africa.
"Never has the arrangement of a Bishop been this fervently. It is a disgrace and exceptionally humiliating to the CSN and the Pope."
He said since the warriors have shown they would not down, the Pope may need to shut down the 163 parishes in the Diocese.
"On the off chance that you consider how much persistence the Pope has shown, you will concur that it won't be strange for him to act now.
"Any minute from now, he may declare the areas are not any more under the Vatican. In that case, they can get elsewhere to go.
"The Pope is the last expert of the congregation and nothing will make him back to primordial ethnic assumptions," the source, who argued for strict namelessness, expressed.
He showed that a portion of the stubborn Priests fuelling restriction to the Bishopric arrangement may likewise be derobed to fill in as hindrance to others.
The troubled Okpalaeke however pronounced yesterday that he is unperturbed by resistance to his arrangement.
He pronounced he was anticipating his establishment regardless of challenges from Priest of Ahiara extraction.
He talked amid the 70th birthday celebration service of Monsignor Johnbosco Akam at his Uga nation home in Aguata Council of Anambra State.
As indicated by him: "What they are stating is outside to my livelihood; my business originates from God, pronounced by the congregation.
"I have been carrying on with my life as a satisfied minister. Wherever I wound up as a minister, without a doubt I will see God on the most recent day. That is my main goal."
He talked similarly as examinations uncovered the Reverend Fathers have embraced new measures to battle the arrangement, which they said was not straightforward.
In spite of the fact that they have all composed the letter of conciliatory sentiment as requested by Pope Francis as a discipline for opposing the specialist of the Church, checks uncovered they have chosen to work from the sidelines while asking on Laity pioneers to proceed with the battle.
It was accumulated they measured the results of resisting the Vatican and assembled the people to disobediently dismiss Okpalaeke.
Leader of the Ahiara Diocesan Catholic Men Organization, Chief Gerald Anyanwu, told journalists the Diocese is not opposing the Pope but rather requesting equity and value.
"We are not scrutinizing the choice of the Pope but rather we won't acknowledge Okpalaeke as Bishop.
"The procedure of his arrangement did not take after set down methodology for the arrangement of Bishops.
Another individual from the Laity, Sir Sebastian Eke, stated: "Our position is equity. We don't perceive any motivation behind why some person from this Diocese or whatever other Diocese from Imo State can't be designated as the Bishop of Ahiara Diocese.
"All we are stating is that we don't need Okpalaeke and attempting to constrain him on his on us is not equity".
VP of the Catholic Women Organization (CWO) in the Diocese, Dr Liona Ohanu, who talked for the benefit of the ladies, engaged the Vatican to tune in to the request of the general population.
She stated: "We regard the Pope and can't resist his order as our Supreme Head however the issue of Okpalaeke is an exception and we won't welcome him as the Bishop of this Diocese. Give the Pope a chance to select some other individual from anyplace we will acknowledge however not Okpalaeke".
While the Laity was dissenting, the Priests merged in one of the structures in the Cathedral from where they were checking the advancement and issuing orders, evidently working from the foundation to evade additionally goading the Vatican.
Be that as it may, the best Catholic pioneer in Abuja said the Pope would act any minute to stop "the humiliation these ethnic jingoists have caused the congregation."
Leave your opinion, in the comment section
No comments
Post a Comment
Comment, and tell people what you think