In the statement, Bishop Olorunmolu cites “falsehood”, saying that the four men should not be recognised as Deacons.
“On account of so much falsehood about the said diaconate ordination, I hereby decree that… the ‘Diaconate Ordination Certificates’ issued by me to the four men named above are hereby withdrawn with immediate effect. They are not to be recognised by any Ecclesiastical Authority or any other authorities, including civil ones,” the Nigerian Catholic Bishop says.
He says that all Faculties inherent in the four men’s office as Deacons “are hereby suspended with immediate effect” and for “an indeterminate length of time.”
Bishop Olorunmolu explains that he ordained the men at the request of one, “Rev. Fr. Stephen Obioma Nwaigwe”, who presented himself to the Bishop as the Superior General of a Religious Institute he called the “Paraclete Missionaries”.
“I made sure that all the canonical requirements for the ordination were met so as to ensure that I ordain only qualified and worthy candidates for the Church,” the Local Ordinary of Lokoja since his Episcopal Consecration in February 2006 says, adding that he was, however, given “pieces of false information” by the said “Superior General”.
“He (Nwaigwe) also gave me falsified documents to make some claims which turned out to be false,” he says, and adds, “For instance, he showed me a forged document to claim that the ‘Paraclete Missionaries’ were properly erected as a Religious Institute’”.
Bishop Olorunmolu says that investigations found that “Decree of Ecclesiastical Approbation” of the “Missionaries of Jesus the Saviour” also known as “Jesolites” based in Tanzania’s Morogoro Catholic Diocese was used by Nwaigwe to produce a forged “Decree of Ecclesiastical Approbation” for the “Paraclete Missionaries”.
What the self-acclaimed Superior General did was to replace the name, “Missionaries of Jesus the Saviour” with the name of “Paraclete Missionaries” in the forgery saga.
The Nigerian Catholic Bishop, who will turn 76 on August 30 says that shortly after the diaconate ordination ceremony, it was discovered that, before the ordination took place, one of the candidates, Aloysius Kubiatabasi Ebong, had been parading himself at the Military Barracks in Lokoja as a Catholic Priest and had even been “celebrating” Masses.
Bishop Olorunmolu has expressed optimism that the Vatican will take further actions against the four ordained men.
