THE Roman Catholic Diocese of Ahiara
was established a diocese in Ahiara in the region of Mbaise in Imo State out of
the old Diocese of Owerri on November 18, 1987 with Bishop Victor Adibe Chikwe
as its first bishop until his death on September 16, 2010. On Friday, December
7, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI announced the appointment of Monsignor Peter
Okpalaeke, a native of Amesi in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State,
as the second bishop of Ahiara to shepherd the Diocese.
That announcement didn’t go down
well with the Catholic Faithful of Ahiara Mbaise Diocese who unequivocally
rejected the appointment of Father Peter Okpalaeke from Awka diocese as the
Bishop of Ahiara Diocese to succeed late Bishop Victor Adibe Chikwe. Ever since
then, Okpalaeke’s candidacy for the Episcopal Seat of the Diocese has not been
welcomed by the people of Mbaise and all efforts to resolve the crises met with
an unprecedented resistance by the people of Mbaise who are agitating for an
indigenous bishop. According to reports, the protesting congregants sealed off
the Cathedral premises to prevent the Episcopal ordination/installation of the
Bishop-elect. A diabolical dimension was introduced to the opposition when the
protesters ended their peaceful march around the town in black attires,
depositing a coffin near the Cathedral premises signalling danger for whoever
tries to impose himself on them.
That Christians did this was
unbelievable. As a result of this unrelenting resistance by the Mbaise people,
the Episcopal ordination of the Bishop-elect billed for Tuesday, May 21, 2013
was relocated to the Seat of Wisdom Major Seminary Chapel, Owerri to forestall
any form of violence. No less than 26 bishops attended. Among them were Bishops
Solomon Amatu (Okigwe), Vincent Ezeonyia (Aba), Augustine Ukwuoma (Orlu),
Hilary Okeke (Nnewi), Callistus Onaga (Enugu), Joseph Ekuwem (Uyo), Paulinus
Ezeokafor (Awka), Camillus Umoh (Ikot Ekpene), Emmanuel Badejo (Oyo), Matthew
Audu (Lafia), Hyacinth Egebo (Bomadi Vicariate), Gabriel Dunia (Auchi) Michael
Elue (Iselle-Uku), etc. Nine (9) Archbishops including Archishop A.J.V Obinna
(the Principal Consecrator), Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama (President CBCN),
Archbishop Valerian Okeke (Onitsha) and Archbishop Brian Udaigwe (Papal Nuncio
to Togo and Benin Republic) were also present. The Papal Nuncio, Archbishop
Augustine Kasujja and Cardinal John Onaiyekan attended the ceremony. Preaching
during the mass, the Bishop of Umuahia Diocese, Most Rev Lucius Ugorji welcomed
all present for their solidarity, observing that they have gathered for a very
important ceremony to the Roman Catholic Church. He confessed that Mbaise, the
said Ireland of Africa is a good land blessed with enough human resources both
in the clergy, government and education, noting that the Bishopric is a divine
position and is only a gift reserved for the Church. Bishop Ugorji therefore
appealed to the Mbaise people to bury the hatchet and accept Bishop Okpaleke,
assuring that he is a good man with an outstanding history of integrity and
honour, stressing that Bishop Okpaleke who then appeared to be the rejected
stone may be their corner stone tomorrow. He noted that Okpalaeke’s appointment
was not an imposition out of bad will but a manifestation of the universality
of the Church. Okpalaeke was thereafter consecrated Bishop with some priests,
religious and laity from Ahiara diocese pledging their allegiance to him
pending when he would take over the canonical possession of the diocese.
Nevertheless the Ahiara indigenes vehemently opposed the appointment,
contending that their diocese regarded as the Ireland of Africa was grossly
marginalized. They alleged that with the help of Francis Cardinal Arinze (a native
of Eziowelle in Anambra State), in the Vatican City, Awka has produced five
bishops while Mbaise has none; Onitsha Province has 15 bishops while Owerri
Province has only four. They therefore queried the rationale of going to Awka
to select a bishop for Ahiara diocese where there are more than 500 indigenous
priests who are very qualified to be the bishop of Ahiara diocese? The Mbaise
faithful are asking what happened to the list of various priests sent by late
Bishop Chikwe as possible successors? One request the clergy and laity in
Ahiara diocese have consistently made to the Papacy is to make open and
transparent the process of appointing a local ordinary by giving them an
opportunity to contribute and vet whom their next bishop should be, insisting that
the Catholic Church is no longer in 17th Century where a bishop is imposed on
the local people. Our investigation revealed that such ‘affront’ motivated the
Apostolic administrator of the diocese, John Cardinal Onaiyekan to label the
laity and clergy “clannish” which the Mbaise people saw as a calculated attempt
to discredit the legitimate inquiry by the Ahiara Catholics. The numerous smear
campaigns did not dissuade the clergy and laity, believing that the Catholic
Bishops Conference of Nigeria is sharply divided along the decision reached by
Francis Cardinal Arinze and some bishops whose primary duty is to confirm
bishopric candidates from Nigeria to the Vatican. Some of the bishops are
silently angry but are not able to voice their concerns to avoid being
reprimanded. Some of them believe the laity and clergy of any diocese should be
able to decide and nominate bishopric candidates whenever a vacancy exists,
they also suggest that it doesn’t tell good about how the Catholic Church in
Nigeria is run by a group of elite bishops and cardinals who pick their
relatives and those they feel are loyal to them to be made bishops wherever
vacancy exists without first considering the local clergy. Ahiara people are
still relentless in their communion with the Holy Sea though they have been
suppressed and denied the sacraments of holy orders and confirmation and so
many other things for over four years. The people still show willingness to
work with pope to resolve the issue but are not willing to take intimidation in
the name of religion. Okpaleke and Onaiyekan The situation came to a head when
the Vatican summoned five persons against Okpalaeke’s appointment and five
supporters for a dialogue. The president, Catholic Bishops Conference of
Nigeria, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, Apostolic Administrator in charge of
Ahiara, John Cardinal Onaiyekan and the bishop of Owerri, Archbishop Obinna led
the delegation which comprised three priests and two lay members of the Ahiara
Diocese to the Vatican. The five delegates opposed to the appointment could not
make the trip, because, according to reports, they didn’t get the invite on
time. And according to Vatican Radio, Pope Francis was “deeply saddened” by the
refusal of the diocese to accept the Bishop appointed for them and requested
explicitly that the diocese receive Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke, who was
appointed to Ahiara by Pope Benedict in 2012. In his address to the delegation,
the Holy Father, while asking pardon for the harsh language, said the Church in
Ahiara “is like a widow for having prevented the Bishop from coming to the
diocese.” He called to mind the parable, from the Gospel of Matthew, of the
murderous tenants who wanted to steal the inheritance. “In this current
situation, the Diocese of Ahiara is without the bridegroom, has lost her
fertility, and cannot bear fruit. Whoever is opposed to Bishop Okpalaeke taking
possession of the diocese wants to destroy the Church.” In such a situation,
Pope Francis continued, where the Church is suffering, “the Pope cannot remain
indifferent.” Describing as “an attempted taking over of the vineyard of the
Lord,” Pope Francis asked “every priest or ecclesiastic incardinated in the
Diocese of Ahiara, whether he resides there or works elsewhere, even abroad,
write a letter addressed to me in which he asks for forgiveness; all must write
individually and personally. We all must share this common sorrow.” Whoever
fails to do so within 30 days, the Pope said, “will be ipso facto [by that very
fact] suspended a divinis [‘from divine things,’ such as the celebration of the
sacraments] and will lose his current office.” This course of action was
necessary, he continued, “Because the people of God are scandalized. Jesus
reminds us that whoever causes scandal must suffer the consequences. Maybe
someone has been manipulated without having full awareness of the wound
inflicted upon the ecclesial communion.” Following the Pope’s address, Cardinal
Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja and Apostolic Administrator of Ahiara, thanked
the Holy Father. Following his remarks, the Prefect of the Congregation for the
Evangelization of Peoples, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, asked the Holy Father that
the Diocese of Ahiara, with its Bishop, might make a pilgrimage to Rome to meet
with him when the situation was resolved; a request the Pope accepted. Whether
the priests and lay members will comply with the papal directive is yet to be
seen as the president of Mbaise Priests Association, Rev. Father Austin
Ekechukwu and other members of the group including the suspended chairman of
the Laity Council, Chief Gerald Anyanwu and President, Catholic Women
Organisation, CWO, Chief (Mrs.) Felicia Nwogu proved abortive. It was later
learnt that they were consulting their people with a view to making their
position known via a world Press Conference on July 1. The only strong voice
who volunteered information from the community yesterday pleaded for anonymity,
saying it would be difficult for a retraction now because the cravings of the
Ahiara people were yet to be met by the ‘purported’ papal directive. “Hearing
such a directive doesn’t make it authentic. I don’t know whether it’s true or
part of the evil machinations of certain people bent on imposing foreigners on
the law-abiding people of Ahiara. I don’t know if the Nuncio sent such a
letter. There have been several communications from diverse sources and you do
not know which one you’re going to take divine interest in receiving.
“Personally, if the Pope decides to suspend or excommunicate me from the
Catholic Church because I don’t want Okpalaeke as bishop of Ahiara, well I will
go to my house and stay because there is salvation outside the Catholic Church.
But I don’t think the Pope will tell
the people of Ahiara Diocese to apologise to him…because if we offend the Pope
or God, we go for confession. In the Catholic Church, we know how to atone for
our sins. I don’t know why we should go so far,” the source said. He noted that
in the Catholic Church the position of the Pope is sacrosanct but “we feel that
since he is working with human elements there could be mistakes somewhere along
the line,” he stated, adding that the church in Ahiara has been working without
the bishop, “because over 90 per cent of Mbaise Catholics are not in support of
the appointment of Okpalaeke. “I hear that the Pope has directed that Okpalaeke
to make efforts to resume as bishop of Ahiara and the only duty the world has
now to make it realistic, is to come and pound the Ahiara ground for him so
that he can come in,” he said, introducing a new dimension when he said: “when
we met Cardinal Arinze in Dallas, US, he told us he didn’t know anything about
the appointment of Okpalaeke but when we returned to Nigeria we discovered that
he and his cohorts were members who actually nominated Okpalaeke for Ahiara Diocese.
That’s why some of us are confused.” He further argued that if Okpalaeke was
incarnated in Ahiara Diocese, the people of Ahiara will accept him as their
bishop. “If he is from America or anywhere else and was incarnated, he would be
accepted,” he added, pointing out that the Pope knows how to follow the Canon
when an appointed bishop is unable to take possession of his Seat, he is
reappointed to another duty.
Okogie says: Roma locuta est, causa
finita est In his response to the latest development, Archbishop Emeritus of
Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Okogie told our Correspondent that the people of the
affected diocese have only one option after the papal pronouncement on the
issue and that is: “All I can tell you is that the Pope has spoken and that
ends the issue. In Latin, Roma locuta est, causa finita est. Which means Rome
has spoken, the issue is closed.” Reminded that the people affected by the
statement appear not to believe the origin of the said pronouncement, Okogie
who, in 1971, faced a similar challenge in Oyo, said whether the people of
Ahiara believe it or not, “it has come out and they have no other option than
to abide by the instruction therein. “This is exactly what happened to me in
1971 when I was posted to Oyo as an auxiliary bishop and they said they didn’t
want me, threatening that if I dared to come I would die and what not…but God
works in miraculous ways. I was just returning from the Nigerian Civil War
where I served as the chaplain to the Nigerian Army, then I was elected bishop
and posted to Oyo,” he said.
According to the archbishop
emeritus, there was so much uproar over “my appointment as they threatened to
deal with me, saying I was kobo kobo and what have you. I told myself since I
didn’t die in the war front, God preserved my life, so I went. They threatened
and did all kind of things, vowing that the ordination would not take place but
look at me today…it’s through obedience which is the first rule in heaven. You
have to obey. “I don’t know how but I obeyed…but then I was transferred to
Lagos again as auxiliary bishop/apostolic administrator and not too long after
that I was made archbishop of Lagos within five years of my ordination as a
priest in December 1969. That is how life is. What do you stand to gain?”
Okogie maintained. And when asked if there’s a canon in the church that says a
Bishop must be an indigene of a place, Okogie said there was nothing like that,
emphasising: “absolutely nothing. If there was anything like that, what about
all the expatriates that come here and grow to become bishops? My father is not
a Yoruba man.
He came to Lagos and lived here. The
same thing with all these Irish priests and what not… “There are some people
who are being pushed by the evil spirit who always want their own will to
prevail and after the destruction….tell me what do you gain? From instance,
what did we gain from the three years of Nigeria-Biafra war? At the end, Gen.
Yakubu Gowon came and declared: ‘No victor, no vanquished’. He maintained that
his movement from Oyo to assume the position of bishop in Lagos had nothing to
do with the resistance of the Oyo people, stressing: “in the Holy Roman and
Apostolic Church we have our way of selecting bishops. Look at the election of
the Pope, at least I was there on two occasions and people are here talking
what they do not know. You can’t imagine people saying, he wasn’t the one that
wrote it. Don’t forget the devil is powerful.” Meeting with the Pope Narrating
their experience at the Vatican City, the president of Catholic Bishops Conference
of Nigeria, CBCN, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama who lamented the protracted
opposition, aligned with the position of Cardinal Okogie, arguing that the
Ahiara Diocese owes it a duty to obey the papal instruction. His perspective:
“Pope Benedict XVI appointed Peter Okpalaeke as bishop of Ahiara Diocese and
Pope Francis confirmed him and he was ordained but he has not been installed as
the bishop of Ahiara because of some resistance.
“This has lingered on for close to five years
now. The church has hope that there would be some understanding and the issues
would be resolved peacefully and heartily so that pastoral work can resume but
unfortunately that has not happened. The diocese would not allow Bishop
Okpalaeke to set up his ministry as a residential bishop and a lot of talks,
writings, negative sentiments have been expressed by people in Ahiara and
abroad,” he stated, noting that some of the outbursts are not characteristic of
the Catholic Church. Continuing, Kaigama who is also the Archbishop of Jos lamented
that some personalities in the church have called names while various
allegations have been made and it’s in that regard that leaders have been
praying and hoping that solution would come “but the more we tried to hope for
a solution the more that problem tends to deepen and the insistence that Bishop
Okpalaeke cannot be bishop in Ahiara.
They are insisting that only a son
of the soil can be bishop there which is what the Catholic Church cannot easily
accept because it’s not done that way. “Now the Pope, having listened to all
that has been said and done, invited a delegation of Ahiara people to Rome. He
wanted five supporters of Bishop Peter Okpalaeke and five opponents to have a
very personal meeting with the Pope. I had to go in my capacity as President of
CBCN, and Cardinal Onaiyekan as Apostolic Administrator of Ahiara and the
metropolitan Archbishop of Owerri, Most Rev. Obinna.
We had a rigorous session of
prayers, a retreat and a visit to holy sites and serious discussions with all
those that matter at the Secretariat and the Prefect for the Congregation for
Evangelisation of people and many other top dignitaries of the Catholic Church.
“After all our prayers, the Pope had a meeting with us where he gave his word
for us. His word was spoken spontaneously and everybody has heard the word.
The words were written down and
communicated to the whole world; for the attention of the people of Ahiara
especially the priests. It affects then a lot because the Pope insists and
demanded that they should apologise for causing all the problems to the lay
people and the faithful in Ahiara Diocese; and for disobeying his orders. They
should write a letter to apologise for that. “Those who do so before July 9,
2017 will definitely be warmly embraced by the Holy Father, but those who
choose not to, will definitely incur what we call, a suspension a divinis.
That means they cannot function as
Catholic priests: they cannot administer the sacrament, they cannot occupy the
ecclesiastical office. That is the directive of the Holy Father and we have
nothing other than to wait and see that the priests of Ahiara Diocese will heed
the call of the Holy Father, write to him and make up things and resume duties
as Catholic priests in respect and obedience to the promise made by every
priest. This therefore is a test to that obedience,” he maintained. Asked if
the 10 persons were represented at the meeting with the Holy Father, Archbishop
Kaigama said: “The five who have no objection to the appointment of Peter
Okpalaeke as bishop of Ahiara made up of a Rev Sister, a traditional ruler and
three priests represented the group that support the appointment of the bishop
were in Rome. The other group opposed to the appointment did not go and there
was no reason given by them for not showing up. “For us in the Catholic Church,
that is an unacceptable way of behaviour because when we hear that the Holy
Father is calling, we move immediately. I was somewhere far away, and I had to
drop everything literally in order to go to Rome to hear what the Holy Father
had to say. That is the spirit of Catholic Church. We don’t joke with the
pronouncement of the Holy Father, we don’t dilly dally when the Holy Father
calls our attention to any particular matter,” he stated, describing the action
as historic. Kaigama averred that the action didn’t go down well in certain
quarters, and when asked if he had taken time to find out why the opponents
didn’t make it to Rome, he said it was not his duty to find out why; adding
“they got invitation. They were informed adequately. Logistics were put on
ground; transportation, feeding, accommodation in Rome and everything was
arranged by the Apostolic nuncio, even visas were supposed to be facilitated
through the Italian embassy.” Asked if there was any statute in the Catholic
Church that suggests that diocesan bishops must be appointed from within the
local populace, Archbishop Kaigama said there was no such thing, saying “when a
bishop is being looked for we look for a qualified person in terms of human
quality, qualities of administration, intellectual qualities etc.
We don’t look for a particular tribe
or a particular individual; instead we look for somebody who is ready to serve
people and humble himself in order for him to do what the church asks of him
anywhere and anytime.
There is no provision about a person
coming from a particular geographical or ethnic or political or sectional
area.” Archbishop Kaigama defend the church which has had to deal with protests
over indigenous priests, maintaining that the Catholic Church is both divine
and human. “The divine aspect you cannot contaminate but the human aspect is
always visible and there will always be times of challenges, and all manner of
things. It will always happen. It’s not only in Nigeria.
It has happened in India, America
and wherever but it can always be resolved in the spirit of respect. It has
happened in nearby Sierra Leone and at the end of the day, the priests involved
wrote letters of apology to the Holy Father and begged for forgiveness and that
was the end of the matter.” He contended that disagreements will always arise
among human beings; it’s just that when it happens, there is always settlement
in the spirit of the Catholic Church. “If it is truly a pastoral problem, a
spiritual problem, and a Catholic problem I think by now it should have been
settled. But I think there is more than meets the eyes. Are we talking about
the Catholic Church? Why should it take this long? There must be some other
reasons. I can assure you that if this is all about the Catholic diocese of
Ahiara, it would have been settled long ago.
I can bet you that there is more to
it. Be rest assured that Catholic problem will always receive a Catholic
solution. And that is why we continue to grow to the amazement of several people.”
Canon 377 §1 The Supreme Pontiff freely appoints Bishops or confirms those
lawfully elected. 2 At least every three years, the Bishops of an
ecclesiastical province or, if circumstances suggest it, of an Episcopal
Conference, are to draw up, by common accord and in secret, a list of priests,
even of members of institutes of consecrated life, who are suitable for the
episcopate; they are to send this list to the Apostolic See. This is without
prejudice to the right of every Bishop individually to make known to the
Apostolic See the names of priests whom he thinks are worthy and suitable for
the episcopal office.
3 Unless it has been lawfully
prescribed otherwise, for the appointment of a diocesan Bishop or a coadjutor
Bishop, a ternus, as it is called, is to be proposed to the Apostolic See. In
the preparation of this list, it is the responsibility of the papal Legate to
seek individually the suggestions of the Metropolitan and of the Suffragans of
the province to which the diocese in question belongs or with which it is
joined in some grouping, as well as the suggestions of the president of the
Episcopal Conference. The papal Legate is, moreover, to hear the views of some
members of the college of consultors and of the cathedral chapter. If he judges
it expedient, he is also to seek individually, and in secret, the opinions of
other clerics, both secular and religious, and of lay persons of outstanding
wisdom. He is then to send these suggestions, together with his own opinion, to
the Apostolic See. 4 Unless it has been lawfully provided otherwise, the
diocesan Bishop who judges that his diocese requires an auxiliary Bishop, is to
propose to the Apostolic See a list of the names of at least three priests
suitable for this office . 5 For the future, no rights or privileges of
election, appointment, presentation or designation of Bishops are conceded to
civil authorities.