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Tag: priests

  • Anglican Communion ordains deacons, priests

    Lagos Diocese of The Anglican Communion has ordained four deacons and elevated deacons as priests to meet increasing expansion in the church.

    They were ordained at a colourful service presided over by the Diocesan, The Most Rev Dr Ephraim Ademowo.

    Ademowo was supported by Bishop of Anglican Diocese of Igbomina West, The Rt Rev Jide Adebayo.

    Adebayo, who preached the sermon, challenged the ordainees to make true their calling.

    He advised them to hold their salvation tightly and not get lost in the euphoria of service.

    Clerics of different ranks and legal luminaries of the Diocese led by Chancellor of the Premier Diocese, Justice Adedayo Oyebanji, joined the newly ordained in a colourful procession.

  • ‘Tithes should be for churches, not priests’

    ‘Tithes should be for churches, not priests’

    Bishop of Lagos West Anglican Communion, The Rt. Revd. James Odedeji, spoke with Ovwe Medeme, on his life as a cleric, the tithing debate and sundry issues ahead of the 18th anniversary of the Diocese. Excerpts: 

    How has the Diocese progressed over the years?

    Well, we thank the Lord. This Diocese was inaugurated 20th of November 1999. I’m lucky to say I was here but not in this capacity. And the Diocese has grown in leaps and bounds. We have expanded so well.

    We started with about 120 churches and two other Dioceses have been created from us. Like I said, we have invested greatly in church planting. As we speak, we have more than 300 churches.

    When we started, clergymen were 80 but today we have over 300 clergymen. We have also invested in humans. We have encouraged so many of our youths and a lot of them have benefited from the generosity of this Diocese.

    Our vision when we started was to be the leading Diocese and that we have done. Most Dioceses in Nigeria look up to us, not only for help but for whatever is noble and gracious.

    Emphasis has been seriously laid on the spiritual growth of members and youth empowerment. And we have equally planted many churches since I came on board. And a lot of clergymen have gone for further studies to enhance their performance.

    The women have done so well too. They’ve embarked on so many projects that would add to the growth of the church. A lot of correctional centres have been built to cater for those who are unemployed.

    We have engaged in scholarship schemes for indigent students. And these we will continue to ensure that it is going on well. I insisted when I came on board that all our quarters must have a youth chapel.

    When I came on board, we had about two or three. But as I talk to you, we have about 21 chapels that are functional and they’ve gotten their places of worship as well. So those are the things that gladden one’s heart.

    A lot of people believe being a cleric comes with a lot of perks. What are some of the challenges you have faced as a bishop?

    Opinions are like noses, everybody has their own. The call to bishopric is not a call to comfort; it’s a call to service. And if you are privileged to be lifted by God, it is to impart a generation, to add value and to make sure that at the end of the day, I say it without any fear of contradiction, we are responsible to people but we are accountable to God.

    So what people term as comfort might not be there if you want to serve your God. I joined the ministry 28 years ago and I had this idea that I have never subscribed to maximum comfort; perhaps the minimum comfort.

    How much food do you need to survive? The office attracts a lot of pressures. Everybody sees you as a solution. Everybody believes that you have all the power, not knowing that all power belongs to Jesus.

    So those are the challenges. As a bishop, your phone rings virtually every second. But you still have to pray for God’s wisdom and discerning Spirit so that you will be able to do the work according to His will.

    The theme is arise and shine. How can you relate that with the state of the country today?

    Well, the expectation of God is that Christians should arise. We should not settle for less. And when you arise, what you are saying is that you will shine, you will live a life that will impart on the people.

    It is like the issue of the man called the prodigal son. He had wasted a lot of years; he had wasted a lot of resources. And at a time, he discovered that he has not been fair on himself. So he decided to arise. That’s what we are looking at. Arising shows that you are waking up.

    Arising is saying that you should not settle for mediocrity. And when you rise, definitely, you will be obvious. Your activities will be evident and you will be able to do that which God has configured you to do. The purpose of God for us is to make impact.

    That was why Jesus Christ described Christians in Matthew 5 as the salt of the earth, as the light of the world. And he said, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and when they see it, they will glorify God.

    And God is ready for his children to manifest His glory to uncover the glory that God originally meant for his people. When everything was created, they were all handed over to man.

    So man should be in dominion. Because a situation where you are beneath instead of being on top, you need to arise and take your rightful place in the community God has placed you.

    What motivated you to go into the ministry?

    The idea of going into the ministry as at the time I came in was basically the call of God upon my life. I had many choices as at that time. I had a personal conviction of coming to the ministry to work for Him. And people at that time thought I didn’t know what I was doing.

    Because I was very young and they were of the opinion that I should go into the world first and return when I’m old. And I believe so much that I can use my youthful age for the Lord. Some of us, when we entered, it was not because of money or anything. We just felt God is calling us to make a difference.

    It was a time when the Anglican Church would not allow Pentecostal practices. It was a time when people believed that you just go into the church, you clap and you go back home. But some of us felt God is saying something different, that God should be more involved in the activities of His creatures.

    What was it like joining the ministry at a young age?

    Those of us that joined that time, we thank God that none has fallen by the way. That is to let you know that it is the call of God upon us and that is what we refer to at all times.

    I spoke yesterday with some group of people and I said there are things I will never call people to do. One of them is coming to the ordained ministry of the church. It is personal. And if God has called you and you have difficulties, you can still go back to the one who called you. And that is the best that can happen to anybody. We have three types of callings. God calls people. The church itself can call you. Maybe they see some gifts in you and you are carried away with that. Then you have problems, who will you meet? You can also call yourself.

    If unemployment is biting so hard and you believe that going into the ministry will secure some things or you. But the point is that, after 10 years, the difference will be there among those three categories of people that have been called to the ministry.

    So we thank God that we came in, not because of any other thing or that because we didn’t have other choices, but we believe it was God. And God has manifested that these past 28 years I’ve been talking about.

    What’s your position on the tithing debate?

    I’ve listened to a lot of debates going on in the recent past and I’m of the opinion that the bible is very clear. The difference between our set up and other denominations is that the tithe is not for the priest. The tithe is for the church. In fact, most of our churches, the highest income they have is from the tithes. If I have to take the tithe of this cathedral, we will not be able to maintain the premises because the bulk of the money that my Cathedral collects is from tithes.

    And tithe is scriptural. It is biblical and the condition is there that if you want God to rebuke devourers and we must allow food to be in the store. So, it might be rocking some other denominations but not the Anglican Church or the orthodox churches because the tithe is for God and the tithe is being used for the gospel.

    The tithe is being used for evangelism. As a bishop of this Diocese, I’m not entitled to the tithes of the people. I don’t touch it. They don’t give it to me because it is exclusively for the use of the church.

    If it is a one man church, everything comes to you; your wife is probably the treasurer. It is not like that in the Anglican Church. In the Anglican Church, three people sign a cheque. How does the money belong to the pastor? So the Anglican Church is so different. And that is why we thank God that we have been in existence for more than 150 years and we are still very solid.

    My stand on tithing is that whatever is scriptural should not be open to debate. It is unfortunate.

    But a lot of people don’t share that view…

    There was a time I read a particular article on the papers where somebody said the pastors are enjoying the tithes, they are spending the tithe. I want to say that sometimes, erroneously, when people see pastors wearing a good shirt or a good shoe, it does not mean that he has used the tithe to buy it.

    Sometimes if you serve God, God will service you. When people come with their diverse troubles and challenges and you pray for them and God answers because He has called you for that purpose and they return with gratitude to God and something private is given to you and you use it to buy a shoe, some people might say it is tithe money.

    Many times, people offend God. That’s the way I see it. I have one or two vehicles in my premises that were given to me to use. I cannot tell you how much they were bought. Somebody just felt this man is fantastic. God is using this man. He is not particular about what he wants to get but about what he wants to give.

    So for you now to see my wife tomorrow with a new shoe and you say it is the tithe money, sometimes we are offending God. And God understands that human beings are limited in everything. So my own idea about tithe is that it should be paid. Know where you pay your tithe.

  • Failed politicians? What of failed priests?

    Nigeria is a great one for neither-nor figures, convoking neither-nor fora, assuming neither-nor names and thundering neither-nor verdicts, just to press neither-nor patriotism!

    The National Peace Committee (NPC), under the chair of former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, and convened by the priestly-constant-in-the-public-space, Matthew Hassan Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, fits into such profiling.

    It just indicted “failed politicians” for the umpteenth tension in the land.  The NPC is an adjunct of the Matthew Hassan Kukah Centre.  But on Kukah, the medium and the message excellently gel in patriotic platitudes, given the priest’s own glaring failure as a moral voice.

    What does Hardball mean, by a charge not a few would insist is sensational, if not outright grievous?

    Simple.  With all of Kukah’s huffing-and-puffing, what is his stand on corruption, the most serious plague, ever to threaten the existence of Nigeria he so dearly loves?

    Well, Hardball remembers.  Kukah would rather the country “moved on”, grateful that Goodluck Jonathan had handed over after electoral defeat; and should consider itself privileged to drink from the poisoned chalice he handed over!  When outrage came from different directions, Kukah resorted to his time-tested sophistry of saying so much and yet saying nothing!

    Despite an eternal moral grandstanding, Kukah has remained near-funereally silent on condemning and punishing corruption.  If that is no grievous priestly failure, Hardball doesn’t know what else is.  Yet, here is Kukah posturing yet again about failed politicians!

    Of course, the Kukah case is fitting metaphor for Christendom Nigeria.

    Take Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) president, Sam Ayokunle, of the Baptist Convention.  One would have thought that after the wasted Ayo Oritsejafor years under Jonathan, CAN would have turned another leaf from its can of worms of chasing shadows and shunning substance.  Fond hope!

    Rev. Ayokunle, it is, who is leading a barren campaign over a new school curriculum, even when its details, and rationale, have been explained over and over.

    CAN postures some imaginary forces were imposing Islamic Religious Studies on others; and the same noxious forces are wiping Christian Religious Studies (CRS) from the curriculum.  That would have been utterly condemnable, if true.  But again, the proof was only in their Holiness’s ultra-creative imagination, fired by bigotry, if not actual visceral hate!

    O, another integral part of the CAN war: studying Arabic in schools, even in those swathes of the country in which that language has socio-religious-cultural significance, is evil!

    Yet, at other fora, these same characters would wax lyrical on “restructuring” and “true federalism”!  But pray: how can you accept “true federalism” in politics, and yet reject “true federalism” in the curriculum, within the same polity?

    That is the blatant contradiction in CAN’s anti-Arabic campaign.   In any case, you cannot accept English but reject Arabic.  Both are vehicles of cultural imperialism, used to plant Christianity and Islam in the African mind.

    But the clincher in all the hypocrisy is the Kukah NGO is condemning hate!  Who has contributed more to the tension and hate in the country today, than these intolerant pastors, who in their combustible preaching to the converted, go on as if whoever has a different faith is an enemy?

    As the Bible says, let these holy fathers remove the beam in their own eyes first, before working on the speck in others’, discussing the spread of hate!

    And while still at it, they should examine and thoroughly purge themselves of their own ignoble attempts at distracting the public, simply because Jonathan, their preferred candidate, lost the 2015 polls.

  • Monarchs, priests storm court for Nnamdi Kanu

    Monarchs, priests storm court for Nnamdi Kanu

    Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed April 25 for ruling on whether or not to review her earlier order allowing the shielding of the prosecution’s witnesses in the trial of four Biafra agitators, including Nnamdi Kanu.

    Security was heavy at the court, which was filled up with the defendants’ sympathisers, among them traditional rulers, priests and elders.

    Justice Nyako chose the date after listening to arguments from lawyers to the parties in the case in relation to an application by the defence for the court to review its ruling on the protection of witnesses.

    Kanu, Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi are being tried on an amended 11-count charge.

    On December 13, last year, Justice Nyako granted the prosecution’s request that its witnesses’ identity be shielded from the public as a form of protection for them, because most of the witnesses are members of the Indigenous People  of Biafra (IPOB), the group headed by Kanu.

    Yesterday, Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor urged the court to review its December 13 ruling since the nature of the case has changed with the striking out of charges relating to terrorism in the court’s last ruling.

    Ejiofor argued that since terrorism charge has been struck out in the charge, there was need to review the ruling which gave the prosecution the right to shield witnesses.

    He said the Terrorism Act allows the prosecution to seek leave to protect witnesses, but that since his client was no longer charged with terrorism, it was appropriate for the court to set aside the order of December 13, 2016.

    Ejiofor said: “An accused who is not standing trial on offences not mentioned in that section can be tried in the open court.”

    Another defence lawyer, Emmanuel Esene, cited Section 36 (4) of the 1999 Constitution as amended as saying that defendants standing trial on criminal cases should be tried in open court.

    Esene said: “When the order (to shield witnesses) was made, terrorism charge was included; now you my lordship struck out the charge against the defendants, that order should be vacated.”

    Another member of the defence team, Chukwuma Ozougwu, counsel to the fourth defendant, urged the court to note that everybody before the court was equal and should be treated equally.

    Ozougwu said: “On what basis is the prosecution opposing the application for open trial. The prosecution counsel has not given enough reasons why my application should be refused.

    “No basis, no foundation for opposing the application. Justice should not only be seen to be done but should not also be clouded in darkness.  For interest of justice, I urge the court to grant my application”, Ozougwu held.

    Prosecuting lawyer Shuaibu  Labaran urged the court to dismiss the defendants’ application, describing it frivolous, lacking in merit and an attempt to slow down the progress of the case.

    Labaran drew the attention of the court to Section 232 (4) of the Administration of the Criminal Act (ACJA), which gives a judge discretion to determine whether or not a witness in a case deserves protection.

    Supporters not allowed to access the court premises stood outside the court’s main entrance while proceedings lasted.

    With banners bearing IPOB logo and insignia, they chanted solidarity songs in Igbo language under the watchful eyes of security men.

  • Priests hail Obi on return of schools

    Former governor of Anambra State Peter Obi was singled out for praise at an event meant for priests.

    During the ordination of six new priests at the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, Onitsha, the commercial capital of the state, Catholic Bishop of Kano Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. John Niyiring said handing over schools to their church owners was the most courageous thing a person in government had done in Nigeria.

    He noted that since that exercise the trajectory of education changed in the state.

    While thanking the the Anambra State government for the gesture, he called on others to emulate it.

    In his own remarks, the Auxiliary Bishop of Onitsha,  Most Rev. Dr. Denis Isizor, who encouraged the newly ordained priests to strive at all times to attend to the spiritual needs of the people, agreed with Bishop Niyiring. He went on to say that many countries in the world, using Ghana where he had personal experience, are eager to know by what arrangement the partnership between Anambra government and the churches worked seamlessly for the good of the people, especially in the area of education and healthcare delivery.

    Corroborating the submissions of the bishops, Dr. Alex Obiogbolu said that the continued reference to education underscored its importance in development. He recalled the gains of return of schools to the Church and how the former Governor, Mr. Peter Obi offered real support to the Churches.

    “Beyond the return of schools and the grant of over N6 billion for the rehabilitation of those schools, former Governor Peter Obi also provided buses, Internet connectivity, generators, sick bays, libraries, sporting facilities, computers and learning  aids to these schools,” Obiogbolu submitted.

     

  • Catholic Archbishop to priests: live up to your vows

    •Cleric worried about endemic poverty

    The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos Archdiocese, Reverend Alfred Adewale Martins has urged Catholic priests to ensure that the values and virtues of the church are preserved.

    He gave the address during the Chrism Mass at Saints Michael, Raphael and Gabriel Catholic Church (Archangels’), Satellite town.

    Archbishop Martins said Chrism Mass is an opportunity for every priest to renew their priestly vow and commitment to God while rededicating themselves to the service of God and humanity.

    “What they have renewed today should be kept afresh and the light should shine incessantly in them, so that they shepherd the people of God in the right direction,” the cleric stated.

    The archbishop advised the priests never to be distracted, but remain faithful to their calling.

    Commenting on the Easter celebration and the state of the nation, the archbishop said Easter is an expression of hope and that by the grace of God, “whatever is dead in mankind will resurrect and come back alive”.

    “Whatever that is old in us can be renewed by God. It tells us that our hope in life is based on the risen Lord,” he said.

    The cleric urged leaders to emulate the virtues of Christ and reduce the suffering of the people they serve.

    The archbishop noted that Nigeria is faced with challenges.

    “There is too much despondency poverty and suffering, and if care is not taken to remedy the situation, the people will one day stand up and revolt because their expectations from the government have not been met. The suffering masses expect policy implementation that will improve their living standard vigorously.”

  • Priests or politicians?

    An Igbo traditional parlance, there is saying that when an elder shows bad example, children don’t just copy it, they also modify it. The recent acts of   priests of Ahiara Catholic diocese of Imo State   aptly illustrated this truism. The priests have by their morbid recalcitrance to obey the order of the Holy See swept under the carpet all that Christianity stood and stands for, as well as their priestly vows.

    One thing that separated Church of England from that of Roman Catholic Church is the latter’s strict adherence to principle of Hierarchism – which denotes that power flows from top to down. In the Church of England, dioceses enjoys a lot of autonomy from Lambeth Palace but its not so with Catholic Church where Order from Vatican is final. But the Catholic faithful of Ahiara diocese disregarded this tradition and have uncompromisingly stated their rejection of Bishop Ebele Okpaleke, former auxiliary Bishop of Awka diocese. They regarded the posting of Okpaleke to their diocese as an imposition.

    But be it as it may, the arguments of Ahiara Catholic faithful should be considered. They argued that since the inception of the diocese that no Mbaise priest has made it to a bishop. They questioned whether Mbaise priests were second class citizens in the said diocese. Inasmuch as their arguments appear sound, they should have handled the issue in the spirit of Christianity and Catholicism. They shouldn’t have gone to the extent of politicizing the whole issue and forcing out of their faithful a Catholic of thugs.

    What I usually ask since the politicisation of this issue is what these priests preach to their congregants? For I wonder how priests that ignited their congregants to wage war against a posted bishop will advice the latter to refrain from doing bad things.

    The unmannered  response of Mbaise faithful to cardinal Filoni’s  fatherly letter and rejection of mediation of Cardinal Onaiyekan  is utterly unchristian  and publishing it in a national daily awkward. It is expected that they should have done that through right means.

    No doubt, this issue is so complex and ought to be treated with care and fear of setting a bad precedence. The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Nigeria should in concert with the Holy See evolve a powerful mechanism for negotiation with Catholic Faithful of Ahiara diocese. Any agreement must see to retention -and reaffirmation of Bishop Okpalaeke as their local ordinary!

    The Catholic faithful of Ahiara should know that they can’t be judge in their own case.  It seems to me that they’ve quickly forgotten the famous papal saying that he who hiss at the Pope dies like a beast.

    •Asikason Jonathan,

     Awka, Anambra State

  • Let them marry

    It’s high time the Catholic Church revisited the issue of celibacy for its priests

    Modern ideas may eventually sway the soul of Catholicism regarding celibacy among priests. This issue is at the heart of  a long and strong controversy, which may still not go away whether the Catholic Church eventually reviews its official position or not. So, the news that the Vatican may unprecedentedly allow formal discussion of a possible re-examination of   its age-long thinking on the subject, though welcome, should not result in any premature celebration of change.

    However, it is interesting that Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the incoming Number Two leader in the Catholic Church when he becomes secretary of state next month, reportedly declared that priestly vow of celibacy derived from an age-old rule but was not Catholic dogma. “It’s not a dogma of the Church and it can be discussed because it’s an ecclesiastical tradition,” Archbishop Parolin told El Universal in Venezuela, where he is completing his term as Papal Nuncio.

    Such development, even though not concrete, has long been awaited by champions of change, and it could open a fresh chapter. For centuries, Catholic Church tradition has required celibacy from priests. The Canon Law of the Church states, “Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, and therefore are bound to celibacy, which is a special gift of God by which sacred ministers can adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart and are able to dedicate themselves more freely to the service of God and humanity.”

    This logic is what may be upturned, but most likely not without resistance from purists. Not surprisingly, Archbishop Parolin’s remark has been interpreted to mean that the Church under reform-minded Pope Francis I would welcome married priesthood if most Catholics so desire. There is no doubt, however, that it is still a long walk to change, and there will be tough challenges on the way.

    Why should priests be celibate? Why not?  While there are pros and cons, it is hoped that such debate will not only be open, but that it will also respect the dominant wishes of the 1.2 billion members of the world’s largest Christian church. It is pertinent to note that the number of Catholic priests has allegedly been declining steadily partly because of the rule on celibacy. In the United States alone, about 30,000 priests have reportedly left because they wanted to pursue a relationship. Furthermore, in recent decades the Church has faced harsh criticism for its doctrines concerning sexual issues as well as for its handling of sexual abuse cases.

    Indeed, it is generally believed that the crisis of homosexuality which has intensified among the clergy in the Church in recent times is basically connected with its rigid rejection of new ideas on celibate priesthood. Related to the gay question are paedophilia and other deviant sexual practices, which have not only soiled the image of the Church, but have also resulted in widespread alarm over its future. Interestingly, at issue is the concept of “natural order” and what it means. In an increasingly permissive world, the Catholic Church will need to frankly contemplate the implications of celibacy for natural sexual impulse and the biological need for an outlet for sexual feelings.

    It is a moot point whether celibacy actually enhances spiritual acuity, and clearly such position is fast becoming a hard sell for the Church. In the face of dwindling attraction, it would appear to be in the interest of the Church to tone down its stance in order to draw more people to priesthood. It is noteworthy that the possibility of moderation on this issue was highlighted by Archbishop Parolin’s clarification that the idea of celibacy among the clergy was a mere convention and lacked the irreversibility of an ironclad belief. Indeed, some theologians claim that celibate priesthood only achieved popularity from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.

    It is significant that a major apprehension on the part of traditionalists is the possible demystification of married priests. However, in this respect it is important to ponder whether priesthood is supposed to imply human perfection, and whether it is realistic or helpful to promote such fallacy. Priests are human, after all. It is instructive that Pope Francis I said of himself in a recent interview, “I am a sinner.”

    It is strikingly ironic that the Catholic Church, which is rated among the oldest institutions in the world and credited with an influential role in the history of Western civilisation, inspiring art, culture and philosophy, has found itself in a web of old-fashioned thinking.  It is absolutely imperative that the Church should chart a “New Way”; and Pope Francis I, who represents a breath of fresh air, is perhaps correctly positioned for reformation.

    This unusual Pope, who said he couldn’t “judge” homosexuals, and stated that atheists should be left to follow their “informed conscience”, has brought a new imagination to the papacy, and he may yet be the pathfinder in the maze. It would appear to be in character if he lent his weighty voice to the campaign to let priests marry. Obviously, if the status quo is changed, it would affect Nigeria where, according to a 2005 estimate, there are 19 million baptised Catholics.