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Be There for Your children, Don’t Leave Them to “cultists”: Catholic Bishop in Nigeria

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Nigeria's Sokoto Diocese/ Credit: Sokoto Diocese/Facebook

By Silas Isenjia

Sokoto, 31 March, 2022 / 9:00 pm (ACI Africa).

A Catholic Bishop in Nigeria has urged parents in the West African country to be always available for their children to protect them from cultists and other social vices that might destroy their future.

In a Tuesday, March 29 homily when he conferred the Sacrament of Confirmation to 26 candidates at St. Mary's Dutsima Catholic Church in Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah said that many parents prefer to take more time at their workplaces or businesses at the expense of being with their children.

“I want to warn the parents, don’t outsource the responsibility of taking care of your children from cultists,” Bishop Kukah said.

Still addressing himself to parents, the Nigerian Bishop added, “Many of you believe that it’s better to spend more time in your shop than to monitor what your children are doing.”

He encouraged parents to consider training their children in Catholic institutions at all levels where sound academic and moral education is given serious attention.

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Bishop Kukah reflected on the ongoing Russia and Ukraine war and challenged those he was about to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation and other Nigerians to be on the forefront in fighting evil as soldiers the same way some Ukrainians returned to their country to defend it against intruders.

The Local Ordinary of Nigeria’s Sokoto Diocese urged the faithful to be soldiers of faith saying, “The challenge for us as Christians and as people who are about to receive the sacrament of confirmation is to be soldiers of faith.”

Making reference to various affiliations that the people of God in Nigeria subscribe to, Bishop Kukah said that loyalty is paramount. He said that those who embrace loyalty are not bound by laws and regulations.

He said that those who love God, the Church and their colleagues do not have any reason to break the law.

The Catholic Bishop who has been at the helm of Sokoto Diocese since his Episcopal Ordination in September 2011 cautioned Nigerians against disloyal character and said that there is no need to appear before God in the event of an emergency only.

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The Nigerian Bishop who was appointed as a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in January 2021 said that the first step towards being free from law is to internalize the gifts of the holy spirit.

“If we look at the gifts of the holy spirit and internalize them, and they become part and parcel of our lives, we don’t need anyone to tell us that life is for law breakers,” Bishop Kukah said in his March 29 homily.

The 69-year-old Catholic Bishop explained, “As the church, we cannot rise above the society but being Christians, we have a responsibility to do more.”

He said that every human being is known to exist in three realms, which he listed as the realm known to the person himself alone; the realm known by other human beings; and the realm known to God.

Bishop Kukah reflected on the challenges of education in Africa's most populous nation and said that students have been unwittingly caught up in the web of strikes by teachers.

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Silas Isenjia

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.

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