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Tag: Catholic Church

  • Knights to content creators: stop blasphemy against Catholic church

    Knights to content creators: stop blasphemy against Catholic church

    The Knights of St. John International (KSJI) and Ladies’ Auxiliary, has joined the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) to seek  a halt to blasphemy  against the Catholic faith.

    The KSJI stated this in a statement signed by its Supreme Subordinate President Nigeria, Sir  Remy Uche, at the end of its emergency Executive Board Meeting held during the week.

    The Knights reaffirmed the position of the CBCN’s President, His Grace, Most Rev. Lucious Ugorji, who had earlier condemned the act of mimicking the Catholic Church’s way of worship in any form.

    The statement said: “Our attention has been drawn to a very audacious act, aimed at ridiculing the Catholic faith, and making light of what we hold very sacred. We condemn in very strong terms, an attempt by faceless individuals at Achina, Anambra State, where a masquerade, was dressed in the caricature of the vestment of a bishop, clutching a crosier and blessing the people and also in Adazi Nnukwu, Anambra State, where they were making light of the importance of the Eucharist in what seems like a Eucharistic procession, while clutching a monstrance.

    “As a responsible body saddled with the defence of the Christian faith as presented by the Catholic Church, we the KSJI are not only condemning the act of blasphemy on the part of these reckless actors, but we are also calling on government agencies saddled with maintenance of law and order to quickly nip the act in the bud, before it is too late.”

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     They  decried the wave of blasphemy in the name of content creation.

    “It was like witnessing again, the Roman soldiers slapping our Lord Jesus Christ, weaving on His head the crown of thorns, and, in mockery, calling him the “king of the Jews.” This, for us, is a sin, and we hope that the perpetrators, who appear to understand the significance of the elements and forms of our worship, will have a rethink and approach God for forgiveness through the sacrament of reconciliation,” it added.

    They, therefore, called on security agencies to be alive to their responsibilities of safeguarding the peace of our society, adding that they have seen countless communities go up in flames for fewer acts of blasphemy.

    “The church is not in any way against the culture of the people, but when some unscrupulous people hide behind cultural heritage to stoke the amber of discord, then, the act could be seen as criminal and capable of causing disaffection between the adherents of two different faiths,” the Knights said.

    They appealed to all Catholics, “whose sensibilities have been abused by these ungodly actions, to continue to bear wrong patiently as this is one of the hallmarks of our faith.”

  • Catholic church okays blessing for same-sex couples

    Catholic church okays blessing for same-sex couples

    Priests can now bless same-sex couples, the Vatican announced yesterday.

    The development makes the Roman Catholic Church more welcoming to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (L.G.B.T.Q.) members.

    The Vatican had long said it could not bless same-sex couples because it would undermine the church doctrine that marriage is only between a man and a woman.

    The new rule was issued in a declaration by the church’s office on doctrine and introduced by its prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández.

    Cardinal Fernández emphasised that the new stance does not validate the status of same-sex couples in the eyes of the Catholic Church.

    He said the declaration did not amend “the traditional doctrine of the church about marriage,” because it allowed no liturgical rite that could be confused with the sacrament of marriage.

    Cardinal Fernández wrote: “It is precisely in this context that one can understand the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage.”

    In his introduction to the declaration, which was signed and approved by Pope Francis, Cardinal Fernández nevertheless acknowledged that the broadening of the scope of who could receive blessings amounted to “a real development” and a “specific and innovative contribution to the pastoral meaning of blessings.”

    He said the decision was “based on the pastoral vision of Pope Francis.”

    “This new declaration opens the door to nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples, something that had been previously off-limits for bishops, priests and deacons,” said the Rev. James Martin, a prominent advocate for L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics, according to The Times.

    “Along with many priests, I will now be delighted to bless my friends in same-sex unions.”

    There has been a burst of activity on the L.G.B.T.Q. issue in recent months from the office of the Doctrine of the Faith, run by Cardinal Fernández, especially after many advocates for L.G.B.T.Q.

    In October, the Vatican released Francis’ private response over the summer to doubts from conservative cardinals about the possibility of blessing same-sex couples, a practice they absolutely opposed.

    Francis instead suggested the blessings were a possibility, seemingly reversing a 2021 Vatican ruling that came down hard against the blessing of gay unions, arguing that God “cannot bless sin.”

    While the pope then also clearly upheld the church position that marriage could exist only between a man and a woman, he said that priests should exercise “pastoral charity” when it came to requests for blessings.

    The issue of blessing same-sex couples has exploded in recent years, especially in Germany, where priests have regularly offered blessings despite resistance from the Vatican.

    The Vatican document points out that blessings, which are intended to evoke God’s presence in all facets of life, can be bestowed on people, objects of worship, places of work, and much else, and are aimed at giving glory and asking favour to God.

    A church official said the blessings amounted to “a real development” that nevertheless did not amend “the traditional doctrine of the Church about marriage”.

    In the Catholic Church, a blessing is a prayer or plea, usually delivered by a minister, asking for God to look favourably on the person or people being blessed.

    The declaration represents a softening of tone from the Catholic Church, although not a change in position.

    In 2021, the Pope said priests could not bless same-sex marriages because God cannot “bless sin”.

    Pope Francis had suggested in October that he was open to having the Church bless same-sex couples.

    Bishops in certain countries have previously allowed priests to bless same-sex couples, though the position of Church authorities remained unclear.

    Cardinal Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, explained that the declaration “offers a specific and innovative contribution to the pastoral meaning of blessings, permitting a broadening and enrichment of the classical understanding of blessings, which is closely linked to a liturgical perspective.”

    The declaration says: “It is essential to grasp the Holy Father’s concern that these non-ritualised blessings never cease being simple gestures that provide an effective means of increasing trust in God on the part of the people who ask for them, careful that they should not become a liturgical or semi-liturgical act, similar to a sacrament.”

    The declaration states: “One should neither provide for nor promote a ritual for the blessings of couples in an irregular situation. 

    “At the same time, one should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing.”

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    The document suggests: “In a brief prayer preceding this spontaneous blessing, the ordained minister could ask that the individuals have peace, health, a spirit of patience, dialogue, and mutual assistance—but also God’s light and strength to be able to fulfil his will completely.”

    It insists, however, that “precisely to avoid any form of confusion or scandal, when the prayer of blessing is requested by a couple in an irregular situation, even though it is expressed outside the rites prescribed by the liturgical books, this blessing should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them. Nor can it be performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding. The same applies when the blessing is requested by a same-sex couple.”

    It suggests that such a blessing “may instead find its place in other contexts, such as a visit to a shrine, a meeting with a priest, a prayer recited in a group, or during a pilgrimage.”

    The declaration emphasizes that with these blessings “there is no intention to legitimise anything, but rather to open one’s life to God, to ask for his help to live better, and also to invoke the Holy Spirit so that the values of the Gospel may be lived with greater faithfulness.”

    It concludes that what has been said in the declaration regarding the blessings of same-sex couples should be sufficient “to guide the prudent and fatherly discernment of ordained ministers in this regard.”

    The Vatican holds that marriage is an indissoluble union between man and woman. As a result, it has long opposed same-sex marriage.

  • Better to be an atheist than a hypocritical Christian- Pope

    Pope Francis has criticised hypocrites in the Catholic Church, the pontiff said on Wednesday during his general audience in the Vatican.

    “How often do we see the scandal of these people who go to church and are there every day, and then they lead a life in which they hate others or talk badly about other people.

    “Better not go to church: Live like an atheist,’’ Francis said.

    During the audience, the Argentinian leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics demonstrated his ability to connect with ordinary people.

    He however, received members of the Cuban National Circus, while he laughed with the dancing artists and balanced a football on his fingertip. (dpa/NAN)

  • Suspected robbers attack Catholic Church

    Suspected robbers on Tuesday attacked Catholic Youth Centre Parish under the Catholic Diocese in Makurdi, Benue State and stole valuables.

    The guard, Mr. John Akya, told The Nation that the suspected robbers forced their way into the premises through the gate and asked him to bring the church keys, but he told them that he was not with the keys.

    He said the hoodlums later saw a bunch of keys on the wall, removed it and ransacked the church.

    Akya said he was held hostage for almost two hours, adding that two members of the gang stood outside the church premises until a vehicle arrived and they moved the stolen items into it and escaped.

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    Commenting on the incident, the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Benjamin Ukpanya, decried youths’ involvement in crimes.

    He said the matter has been reported to the police.

    Mr. Moses Yamu, police spokesman, told our reporter on the phone that he was in Jos, Plateau State, for a training and he could not comment on the incident.

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  • Catholic Church expresses concern over insecurity

    The Catholic Church, Lagos Archdiocese, has expressed concern over the state of insecurity which it said is threatening the country’s peace and unity.

    The occasion was at the commemoration of this year’s International day of Peace by the Church and some human rights organisations.

    The Director, Justice Development and Peace Centre (JDPC), Rev. Fr. Anoliefor, said: “there is so much crisis all over the world and not only in Nigeria.”

    He noted that instead of establishing peaceful solutions to conflicts, countries fight each other.

    “There is killings everywhere. Back home in Nigeria there is no peace. In some parts, it is about kidnapping for ransom, while others is for ritual purposes.”

    According to him: “Insecurity is spreading to almost every part of the country. In the Northern part of the country, it all started like a ‘joke’ in the name of religion. Thereafter came the militants problem in Niger Delta with the kidnapping of expatriates in the oil rich region, piracy, hijacking and hostage taking for ransom.”

    Rev. Fr. Anoliefor ascribed the development to job shortages and high level of unemployment in the country coupled with the inability of some state governments to pay salaries and pension.

    The JPDC director decried the state of education in the country and lack of good medical facilities.

    He lamented that many youths from very poor backgrounds have taken to crime and other negative vices because their families cannot afford their education.

    “There is no policy for qualitative education, in fact, no sector is working effectively because when the big man gets sick they travel abroad to seek medical attention.

    “This is why our medical facilities are not up to standard because it is the poor masses that patronize such facilities.

    “In some government owned health centers, there are no bed sheets and pillowcases, no drugs or portable drinking water while nurses working there use the opportunity to hawk sanitary pads, tissue papers, bathing soaps, among other items, inside the female ward to their selfish aims instead of attending to the patients in need.

    “Even those working in the public sector are not being paid for months due to bad leadership style in the country and this is why the organised labour called for strikes nationwide to drive home demand from the Federal Government for better minimum wage for workers,” he stated.

    Rev. Fr. Anoliefor said there were people from some nationalities calling for creation new states, notwithstanding that existing ones are not been properly governed by various governments and politicians.

    “Growing up in our days, the work of elected executive is to take care of the masses but in the politics of today it is not like that again. People these days are after their pockets and their respective families due to greed, selfishness and wickedness,” he recalled.

     

  • Herdsmen/farmers clash: Catholic Church predicts food scarcity

    The Catholic church in Nigeria has predicted that the country might experience food scarcity due to the continuous clashes between farmers and herders.

    Parish priest St. Luke’s Catholic Church Kubwa, Abuja, Rev. Fr. Innocent Jooji stated that with the continuous clash, farmers are unable to go to farm for fear of AK 47 wielding herdsmen.

    Rev. Fr. Jooji further lamented that the government is not being proactive enough in handling insecurity in the country which has continuously led to the loss of hundreds of lives.

    Speaking at a round table discussion organized by the Catholic laity council of Nigeria, themed, ‘Nigeria, citizenship rights and responsibility’.

    Fr. Jooji stated that it is unfortunate that the Nigerian military which had made a name for themselves through peace keeping all over Africa are unable to put a handle on Nigerian’s security crises.

    His words, “It is a very unfortunate situation because for example the governor of Benue state said, that when this started he got the President and services chiefs informed but I think government is, was and is not proactive about it, is very casual about it. The herdsmen/farmers conflict has been there but not at this magnitude, they have become very violent and Mr President said of recent that the herdsmen that we grew up to know carrying matchets and sticks to cut down grasses for their cattle but now they carry AK 47, maybe it’s because our boarders are porous and people are smuggling in arms if they are not manned properly and this will continue.

    “We talk about food security, we are going to face food insecurity because this is farming season and these crises have no end, farmers cannot go about their business freely and the herders cannot go freely either, government has the capacity to handle this because if the Nigerian military started participating in peace keeping before independence, post-independence and presently and the military is not able to cope with this, it means there are bigger people behind it because an ordinary hersdman or farmer will not be able to buy these weapons.

    “It could be that they have their sponsors and it is within the capacity of government to identify this people, within or outside the country because the level of insecurity presently is very high. It was this week that a mosque in Mubi was bombed with a lot of fatalities, if you go to places of worship, offices, market you cannot go freely so if the government cannot put a lid on this, in my own conviction, I am not asking anyone to agree with me, it appears that the government is giving them a subtle blessing and they have politicized the herders/farmers conflict and this is an election year so it is not an usual occurrence, maybe they want to destabilize potential voters they feel may not vote a particular candidate, otherwise we are in recession but when it comes to the accusation of arms and violence, there is no recession, what a contradiction.”

    Chief organizer of the program and President Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria, Sir AK Peters explained that the event was organized in furtherance to the discussion of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria 2017.

    He said, “This is a round table discussion on the topic, ‘Nigeria, citizenship rights and responsibility’ organized by the Catholic laity council of Nigeria , Catholic arch diocese of Abuja, Saint Lukes parish, Kubwa.

    “This is the national topic, given to us for discussion to see how we can advance the purpose of the topic in furtherance to the discussion of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria 2017.”

  • Ortom commiserates with Catholic Church

    •Restates call for self-defence •Lawmakers summon governor

    Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has commiserated with the Catholic Church on the death of its priests and worshippers during a church service.

    Ortom, who addressed reporters at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on arrival from vacation, said killing people who preach peace and love of mankind was unacceptable.

    He called on the people to defend themselves and their land because the state is under siege and they have no place to run to.

    Ortom appealed to the people to support security agencies to surmount the challenges, noting that it is clear they are overwhelmed.

    He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for condemning the killings, and urged him to order the arrest of leaders of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore for sponsoring the killings.

    Reacting to allegations that he disarmed Benue citizens through an amnesty programme to make them vulnerable to attacks, Ortom said the programme targeted criminals.

    According to him, if he has not received and destroyed the surrendered weapons, crime would have exceeded the present level.

    He vowed that the state will not review the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, and that ranching is the only solution to incessant farmers/herdsmen crisis.

    The House of Assembly has summoned Ortom on Wednesday to brief lawmakers on actions taken by the State Security Council to halt the attacks.

    The House also resolved to suspend plenary for one week in solidarity with victims, and thanked the National Assembly for its stance against the killings.

    Speaker Terkimbi Ikyange, who ruled after a debate on a motion of urgent public importance moved by Ianna Jato, thanked the acting governor for his efforts at protecting the people in the governor’s absence.

  • Catholic Church moves to eradicate abortion, rape, others

    •Condemns terrorism, kidnapping

    The Catholic Church in Lagos last week moved to eradicate social anomalies such as abortion, rape, homosexuality and contraception to protect lives.

    This is just as the Catholic Church said it is preaching against any form of violent activity including terrorism and kidnapping that could lead to loss of lives.

    The Order of the Knights of St Lumumba, Nigeria, Lagos Metropolitan Council held a prolife rally along Lagos-Badagry Expressway tagged “The Family and Sanctity of Human Life” to kick against lesbianism, gay bi- sexualism and transgender challenges , capital punishment, same sex marriage, terrorism, kidnapping and domestic violence/child abuse.

    Delivering his address, the Grand Knight, Lucky Arhere, said: “The essence is to protect lives. It is a national programme that is done in all states by the Knight of Saint Mulumba.

    “The rally was organised to drive home the message no man has power to terminate any life that is only given by God.

    Delivering her lecture on the sacredness of human life, Dr. Ngozi Obi said abortion has been condemned by the church from the first century.

    “Direct and intentional killing of an innocent human being is considered a mortal sin and murder of a family member, be it a spouse or child as is common in our environment and procured abortions are very grave sins.”

    “The phrase sacredness of human life refers to the sanctity of human life, the fact that human life is holy and precious and should not be taken under any circumstance.

    “The sacredness of human life is the basis of the Catholic Church teaching on the 5th commandment.”

    She said proper upbringing of children can go a long way in eradicating abortion, among other social vices.

    She also called on leaders at different strata of society to take the moral responsibility of defending innocent members of society trapped in the north east by the activities of terrorists group such as Boko Haram.

    She said there is need for government to improve the living standards of the people through wage increase and utlising dialogue to resolve all areas and issues where there is conflict.

    The Baale of Ketu-Ijanikin, Chief Sulaiman Adio Faloye, thanked members of the Knight of Saint Mulumba for visiting, saying he will convey the message rally to the people of the community so that abortion can be abolished in the community.

     

  • NGO kicks against abortion

    A non-governmental organisation (NGO) under the Catholic Church, Pro-life League, has called for the abolition of abortion, saying those who commit it are guilty of killing innocent beings.

    At a rally at the National Stadium Surulere, Lagos, by  St. Denis Catholic Church, Bariga, titled: ‘Match for life’, the church drew attention of the public to the dangers of abortion and to enlighten the youth on the way to live a life of chastity.

    The founder, Mechelin Iketalu said the organisation wants the world to know that there were still people who stand against abortion.

    She said: ”We want to let the world know that there is a group of people who are fighting to stop the issue of abortion because nobody has any right to take anybody’s life. We are an NGO under the Catholic Church and we accommodate everyone”.

    Iketalu, who also spoke on restoring respect for human life, said  people should understand that the child in the womb is a being with a separate heart, soul, body and all components of a person and there is a moral burden to guide the baby with our lives.

    She added: “There is no such thing as an unwanted pregnancy because every child comes from God.”

    At the event were two members of the NGO, were Miss Chukuwma Matilda and Miss Esther Nwokocha, who after being counselled by a priest, changed their minds on abortion, and they gave birth to a baby boy and a baby girl.

     

  • I have nothing against Catholic Church – Okorocha

    Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, said on Wednesday he has done nothing to pitch the Catholic Church against the All Progressives Congress (APC) as alleged by the  Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu.

    The governor insisted that he has instead shown amazing love and unbridled respect for the Archbishop of Owerri Catholic Diocese, Most Rev. Anthony Obinna and “has no problem of any kind with the Catholic Church.”

    He also made a donation of N100 million for the completion of the Okigwe Catholic Diocese Cathedral.

    Okechukwu had accused Okorocha of pitting the Catholic Church against the APC apparently over the governor’s statement that the Archibishop of Owerri cannot install a governor of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) extraction in 2019.

    The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, said in a statement made available to journalists that “the Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, had accused Governor Rochas Okorocha of pitting the Catholic Church against APC without explaining how he arrived at such claim.

    “Mr. Okechukwu is one of those who have the erroneous feeling that the only way they can grow in APC is by attacking or pulling down Governor Rochas Okorocha and he has been doing it religiously without any response from us.

    “Governor Okorocha has shown amazing love and unbridled respect to Archbishop Obinna and has no problem of any kind with the Catholic Church. And what Governor Okorocha has done for the Catholic Diocese of Owerri, no past governor whether civilian or military had done it for them. Let anybody say it is not true. And if Mr. Okechukwu had participated or followed events in the 2015 election he would have understood better.

    “Don’t forget that President Muhammadu Buhari got only 14,157 votes in Enugu State where the DG comes from, and got 133,253 in Imo not minding that Imo was the target of the PDP-led Federal Government’s onslaught in the 2015 election with thousands of soldiers and other security agencies besieging the state.

    “If the governor didn’t mean well, he would not have taken President Buhari to the Archbishop. But two days after that visit, the Leader Newspaper owned by the Archbishop had a banner headline, Alhaji in Government House. The name Okoro-Hausa also came from the same source.

    “And if the campaign of the PDP and a section of the Church that Buhari and Rochas would Islamize the South-East if APC wins didn’t get to Enugu State it means the presence of the party in the state was never considered a threat. But in Imo, that was the major campaign. Mr. Okechukwu won’t understand because he was contended with his much talked about relationship with the President.”