Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha has finally disclosed his intention to intervene in the lingering crisis that has rocked the Catholic Diocese of Ahiara in Ahiazu Mbaise Council Area of the state. The governor’s decision was not unconnected with the visit of notable priests from the embattled diocese to the government house.
Governor Okorocha said his decision to mediate in the crisis was in the overall interest of the Catholic faithful in the diocese and Imo State in general. The priests’ visit was sequel to their earlier visit to the Vatican to meet the Pope over the crisis. The delegation, made up of some of the old priests in the diocese including Rev. Monsignor Edward Amakiri, met with the governor behind closed doors.
In his response shortly after the meeting, the governor said that the lingering crisis in the diocese had never been a good public relations stuff for the state or the Catholic Church and must not be allowed to continue. He explained that he had delayed his intervention in the matter to see whether the concerned parties could resolve the issue in contention without government’s intervention.
The visiting priests claimed that they must have been misrepresented before the pope following the decision of the Pope on the issue in question. The governor described the Ahiara Diocese of Mbaise as one of the most vibrant Catholic dioceses in the state and regretted that the crisis had not augured well for the diocese, and that disputes concerning the church and things of God should not be allowed to drag on for a long time.