Orlu, 14 September, 2022 / 9:30 pm (ACI Africa).
Members of the Knights of St. John’s International (KSJI) in Nigeria are to resume their activities in the West African nation after Catholic Bishops in the country lifted the suspension they had placed on the operation of the Catholic men’s fraternal organization.
In a memo issued February 16 this year, members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) suspended KSJI activities countrywide, citing failure to heed to the Bishops’ directives “requesting for reconciliation between the opposing sides within the order” and the fact that “the bylaws submitted to the CBCN have not yet been approved”.
In their Tuesday, September 13 statement, CBCN members urge the leadership of KSJI to “fully implement the agreements” that have now fueled peace in the organization.
“On 16 February 2022, we, the Catholic Bishops suspended the activities of the order of KSJI as a Catholic organization in Nigeria for its failure to comply with our 10-point directives issued at Enugu on 26 August 2021 as a way of resolving the lingering crisis in the Order,” CBCN members say in their one-page statement.
They add, “Considering that the KSJI has now complied with those directives, we hereby lift the suspension and beseech you to fully implement the agreements that have facilitated the much-desired peace process.”