What could have led a Catholic priest to take up a gun and shoot into the air just to scare away some unruly boys during a New Year mass service? That is the puzzle the Imo State police command is set to untangle.
Reports had it that the said priest, Rev. Fr. Joseph Enyinnaya was conducting the New Year mass on January 1, at St, Columbus Catholic Church Amaimo, Ikeduru Local Government Area, Imo State when some boys began to throw knockouts inside the church premises. Apparently angered by the refusal of the boys to heed warnings to desist from the act, the priest was said to have made for his double barrelled gun.
On emerging, according to an eye witness, he shot into the air to scare away the unruly boys. But “the gun hooked up and while trying to check the firearm, it accidentally discharged and hit one of the boys”.
Another resident corroborated that it was a case of accidental discharge. He said when the boys continued with the knockout throwing, the priest went in and picked up his gun and fired a warning shot into the air. But unknown to him, a bullet left in one of the chambers hit one of the boys when he was lowering the gun and he died. Some other boys within the vicinity were also said to have sustained varying degrees of injury as a result of the shooting incident.
It is still foggy whether the injuries were as a result of the gunshot or the stampede that occurred after the shooting. But those that were wounded were taken to the hospital where they are receiving treatment.
Not unexpectedly, the incident threw the community into serious confusion and deep sorrow coming from the quarters it did. Imo State Police Public Relations Officer PPRO, Henry Okoye confirmed the story and the arrest of the priest. He said detailed investigations have been initiated to ascertain the remote facts surrounding the incident even as he promised further update.
But as the police probe goes on and the update eagerly awaited, the shooting cannot but come under serious public scrutiny. As annoying and condemnable as the throwing of knockouts inside the church premises while mass service was going is, it is doubtful whether the reaction of the priest was the most appropriate and rational response to the recalcitrance of the boys.
Yes, the boys were unruly throwing knockouts inside the church premises after repeated warning. They could also be accused of disrespect to the religious sensibilities of the Catholic Church. Their persistence in disturbing the peace of the church is condemnable. But such behaviour is not different from the abuse to which knockouts are often subjected by our youths during such periods. That is why the police usually warn of its illegality at the commencement of such celebrations. But the practice has festered.
Though details of the incident are still sketchy, it is unclear whether the said priest had started celebrating the mass service when the throwing of the knockouts started or he was still preparing to do so. It is also unclear whether the mass service was being conducted right inside the church building or outside of it.
It is a huge puzzle that a Catholic priest celebrating mass or about to engage in one could abandon that ritual, go for his gun only to emerge by firing into the air just to scare away some unruly boys. That act of indiscretion took a toll in the death of one of the boys with others sustaining injuries. It was the most inappropriate decision in the circumstance.
An innocent life has been lost with many injured during a mass service that was supposed to herald the New Year. What a sad way to commence the New Year for those who sustained injuries and are being treated in the hospital. The alleged offending priest is also spending the New Year in police cell. All these mortal consequences could have been averted had the priest exercised the degree of caution expected of his vocation.
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The shooting incident brings to the fore the distinction between the corporeal and the ecclesiastical realms – issues of the material and the spiritual. Medieval philosophers like Thomas Aquinas had long drawn the distinction between the roles of the state and the church. Whereas the state exists primarily to minister to the material needs of the citizens, the responsibility of the church is concerned with issues of the spiritual. It is for the same reason that the state runs organised armies while the powers of the church lie in prayers. For the church, prayer holds the ace for much of societal challenges. Conceived this way, it is curious that the priest should see the gun as the most appropriate solution to the challenge of the boys’ misconduct.
The priest was confronted with misconduct on the part of the boys. They were throwing knockouts into the church premises and disturbing the peace of worshippers. That could be annoying. But the solution can neither be found in gun trotting nor shooting in the air to scare them away. It was a social issue that posed no serious threat to the priest.
It should have been exhaustively addressed through counselling. Alternatively, the church authorities could have moved in using their internal security systems to apprehend or disperse the boys. It was definitely not beyond them. At the extreme, the law enforcement agencies could be called in to disperse those disturbing the peace of the church.
Ironically, the priest took resort to self help by making for his gun and releasing some shots into the air. It is unclear if he has license for the double barrelled gun or not. If he does not have license for the gun, he faces a possible charge of illegal possession of firearm. That will be in addition to whatever conclusions the police will reach regarding the cause of the boy’s death.
The priest may have been provoked into the measure he took to address an emerging challenge. But it bordered on the extreme and out of tune with the values the church seeks to promote in the society. If a priest of the Catholic Church could take resort to the gun to resolve social misconduct such as the throwing of knockouts then, the larger society is in trouble.
The belief by the church in the powers of prayers as solution to societal challenges is legendary. When the Muslim force was threatening to take over the Mediterranean Sea and position to attack European countries, Pope Pius V asked the Christian faithful to pray the Holy Rosary and seek the intercession of the Blessed Mother Mary to defeat them. Despite being outnumbered, the Christian fleet prevailed.
Some accounts also have it that the rhythmic repetition of the Rosary thoroughly frightened, demoralised and led to the defeat of the Turks in 1571 during the Ottoman Empire. And when countries are faced with dire socio-economic and political challenges, Christians take to prayers to seek divine resolution. It therefore came as a rude shock that a priest of the Catholic Church could deviate from this pristine tradition in an issue that could have been easily resolved through moral suasion.
The mortal consequences of that act of indiscretion could have been avoided had the priest at the centre of the controversy exercised a higher degree of caution. He may not have set out to kill anybody since he shot into the air to scare away those throwing knockout. But his response was obviously disproportional with whatever offence the boys may have committed.
He may have acquired the gun for self defence especially with the dire security challenges in the southeast. But there is something untidy in the excessive reliance by the clergy on the force of arms and ammunitions for their protection. Most of our key religious groups share common belief in the omnipotent God. God is all powerful and the powers of life and death lie with the Almighty.
Thus, the overall safety of humans lie in the hands of almighty God. These belief systems are challenged each time the clergy is seen in a convoy of vehicles with well armed security agencies guarding them. Sadly that has been the growing culture especially among some of rich clergymen. Ironically, these are people preaching divine protection, issuing other holy ornaments that seek to protect adherents against all evil including the powers of man to destroy life.
They should be seen to be living by examples rather than precepts. The incident at St. Columbus Catholic Church is very unfortunate and avoidable. But it highlights the incongruity in reliance by the clergy on the powers of the gun to resolve social misconduct. May the soul of the young boy who came to celebrate his entry into the New Year but failed to make it rest in peace!
