Cardinal in Nigeria Cautions Newly Ordained Priests against Getting “drunk with power”, Being “full of themselves”

Cardinal Okpaleke went on to caution to Priests-elect against obsession with finances, saying, “Be careful with money. We must choose between God and money. If you control the way you get and use money, it can serve you very well. If on the other hand, you let money control your way of life, you will soon be a slave of money.”

“As God's messengers, as Priests of the Catholic Church, we must remember that no one can be the slave of two masters. You cannot be a slave both of God and money for you a Priest,” he said, referring to Matthew 6:24.

The Cardinal continued, “If you think money is something to be good in any way possible, if you always want more and more of it, whatever it means to get it, then you are in danger for a Christian leader must not be out to make money.”

“A man of God must not be a lover of money; this does not mean that you need to be lazy or not to work. But your goal in life is not to be chasing after money,” the 61-year-old Nigerian Cardinal whose December 2012 Episcopal appointment for the Catholic Diocese of Ahiara was rejected by a section of Clergy and Laity of the Nigerian Diocese said. 

While money is important in life, facilitating the provision of “our personal needs and even for our Diocese or Parish,” he said, “You’ll need to be very careful whenever you have to handle money which is not yours.”

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The Nigerian Cardinal went on to advocate for moderation, saying, “You will need not to be a heavy drinker. What happens to someone who drinks so much? Soon such a person loses control.”

“Be careful with anger. Some among us are hot-tempered by nature. They are impatient; they are quickly annoyed. Very little is needed for them to get angry,” he observed, adding, “Don't put yourself in such a position. This kind of character, my dear brothers, is very dangerous for a Priest. A Christian leader of a community must never be hot-tempered or violent but be a man of self-control.”

Cardinal Okpaleke continued, “All of us are born with good and bad inclinations. What we ought to do is to develop in ourselves those good qualities and to put under our control the bad qualities.”

He also cautioned the six Priests-elect against “the spirit of competition.” 

“There is no competition among you. You were called one by one, and each answered and God has called you individually with different gifts, and different expectations. You are not competing with any other person,” he said.

Cardinal Okpaleke added, “Be a single mind, one in love, and one in the heart. Nothing is to be done out of jealousy or vanity. Instead, out of humility of mind, everyone should give preference to others.”

He called upon the Priests-elect to discern opportunities for socializing. “Do not be the kind of person who wants to be present at all social occasions,” he said during the Priestly ordination of Deacons Malachy Ezekafor, Boniface Nwokedi, and Bartholomew Ogbonnaya for CADEK, and Deacons Benstan Chidozie Uyanwa, Jimin Cornelius Demenege, and Collins Chukwudi Izuchukwu for the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (SAC) also known as Pallotines, 

As Priests, the Cardinal said, “you must first be obedient to God in all you do. As God's representative for the good of his people in the local church, obey your Bishops, obey their successors, obey your superiors.”

“God has called you first to preach the gospel with joy. Counsel and care for God’s people with love. Preach more by your life than your words. Remember that you are being ordained not for yourself, not for honour and privilege, but to the service of God and his people,” Cardinal Okpaleke said.

“As a Priest, you are configured in Christ and you are called to conform your life to the life of Christ,” he added. 

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The Nigerian Cardinal identified the vow of celibacy as the one the people of God are keen to observe in Priests, saying, “There is one area especially where people will look closely at your life; it is the way you live as a celibate.”

“God’s messenger must be a man of irreproachable character. Be a real celibate,” the pioneer Local Ordinary of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Ekwulobia emphasized during the July 13 Priestly ordination.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.