The patriarchal structures that were introduced in the Church have not changed, she said, and added, “This practice has continued. And because Bishops are in charge of the Dioceses, they have also embraced this as leaders of Dioceses. Hence Religious men and women are not involved in decision-making.”
According to Archbishop Nwachukwu, the existence of hierarchy in the Catholic Church helps the people of God “to have systems of control.”
“There are no real cases of impunity”, the Nigerian-born Vatican official said, and added, “There is the possibility in the hierarchy of having someone who can control, who can also call to order, even a superior.”
“I have also heard, even in the past, of some Bishops who say that no one should teach him how to be a Bishop. But also, we can say that in the Diocese, if every Priest says that no one should teach him how to be a Priest, there will be total confusion,” he said.
The former Vatican diplomat, who had been serving as Apostolic Nuncio from November 2012 till he was appointed Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization in March 2023 continued, “I am speaking from the side of someone who has been Apostolic Nuncio in several countries. With the presence of the hierarchy, with the presence of the offices which help the Holy Father in the exercise of his pastoral mission throughout the Church, we have the possibility of referring to the Dicastery for cases of difficulties or even difficulties which concern the updating of conventions or the refusal of conventions, or other also difficulties in application.”
Referring to the concerns that were raised at the palaver on the relationships between agents of evangelization in the Church, the former Vatican diplomat said, “It's true that we are a little behind in offering solutions and we are trying to deal with this situation.”
“I would also like to say that there is always the tendency to point the finger at the hierarchy, the Bishops, the Priests, but we must also know that there is the important need for introspection, even at the level of the Congregations, Religious communities,” he said.
Archbishop Nwachuku noted that there are also situations “where Religious men and women do not live the example they should live.”
“We know that the Nuns must be our arms of charism of the Church, not simply authority, but of charism,” the Catholic Archbishop said.
“Those who heard me have known that I like to refer to the Easter morning race, which we speak of in the Gospel according to Saint John. It is said that both ran together… Even if the other disciple was running faster, awaited the arrival of Peter. This is an example of the relationship between charism and authority,” he said.
