Catholic Bishops Determined to “weed out” Priests Soiling Image of the Church in Nigeria: Archbishop Kaigama

Some of the Priests, ACI Africa has gathered, have even managed to turn the faithful against Bishops who speak out against their private practice.

In Parishes neighbouring some of the private ministries, Mass attendance is dwindling as the faithful prefer to attend lengthy Saturday “healing” vigils instead of Sunday Mass.

However, according to Archbishop Kaigama, the developments, worrying as they may seem, do not deter the Bishops in Nigeria.

“The good news is that Priests who are engaging in these practices are not so many,” Archbishop Kaigama said.

He added, “With the determination of Bishops, we are going to keep a close eye on all our Priests and weed out those who want to go the way of popularity, the way of prosperity, of miracles. These practices are watering down what we stand for.”

“Luckily we still have a huge number of Priests and Religious who are very loyal to the Church, and will not do anything to offend the Church,” he said, and added, “Those who engage in these malpractices are very few and I know they can be dealt with in a very Christian manner.”

However, he warned that not dealing with the few disobedient Priests may encourage others to follow suit.

Archbishop Kaigama pointed out the Priests with private ministries are already having an influence on Seminaries across various formation places in the country.

“In our seminaries, there are some seminaries who hold these Priests as their models. They admire them for being outspoken and being able to attract many people and make money. But I am so happy with our Rectors who are very vigilant and do not hesitate to kick out any Seminarian who manifests these tendencies,” he said.

Archbishop Kaigama said that in many circumstances in Nigeria, the Catholic Church has been the only sanctuary for the people who are sometimes failed by the government.

In Nigeria, the people are facing multi-dimensional challenges ranging from poverty, unemployment among the youth, corruption among state officials, and insecurity owing to an increase in bandit groups and Islamists who are hell-bent on wiping off Christianity in the country

“We depend on the government to do the needful but sometimes the government never acts,” Archbishop Kaigama said, and added, “As the Church, we provide the psychological and spiritual sanctuary for people. They run to us for comfort, encouragement and support.”

In Nigeria, the Catholic Church is highly esteemed, the Catholic Archbishop, who started his Episcopal Ministry in April 1995 as Bishop of Nigeria's Jalingo Diocese told ACI Africa, and added, “Even as we meet as Catholic Bishops of Nigeria, the government is always eager to know the outcome of our meetings. Non-Catholics including Muslims are usually eager to know the outcome of our meetings.”

“Other non-Catholic Christian leaders have told me that it is Catholics who lead the ways,” he said, and added, “We are a light that should not be dimmed by these unorthodox practices. We are therefore going to strongly resist these terrible influences of Pentecostalism that try to violate our Catholic identity and values, and try to engage in popular piety that is also attracting people to individuals who have positioned themselves as the centre of attraction.”

“We are going to work very seriously in every Diocese to know which Priest is walking in accordance with the Catholic traditions and practices, and which Priests are out to look for money and popularity,” the Local Ordinary of Abuja since his installation in November 2019 told ACI Africa.  

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He said everyone in Nigeria is looking up to the Catholic Church for leadership and direction, adding that it is not time for the Church to fail the people.

“We owe this country spiritual and pastoral leadership. If the government is failing, I don’t think we too in the Church should fail. We should be the light. We should be the beacon of hope and do our best to see that we are united as Catholics, only heading in the same direction,” Archbishop Kaigama said.

Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Oyo reiterated Archbishop  Kaigama’s sentiments, urging Catholics in Nigeria to be firm in their faith.

“We must take the challenge of practicing our faith much better in order to overwhelm the forces that are trying to destroy us,” Bishop Badejo said in an interview with ACI Africa on Wednesday, September 4.

He expressed regret that in the Catholic Church in Nigeria, the people who want to practice faith authentically are “a little bit laid back.”

“It is time to increase the fervor of our prayers in order to overwhelm the other side,” he said.

On Liturgical abuses in Nigeria, the President of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS), an entity of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), said a Priest must always endeavour to be “a servant of the Liturgy”, and should therefore not use Liturgy as a tool to enrich himself.

On the issue of private ministries, Bishop Badejo said, “We insist that the only ministry is that of Jesus Christ.”

“When you find people who say ‘my ministry’, know that they are in error. If the only ministry we have is that of Jesus Christ, then we cannot use it for self-serving glorification,” he said.

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo told ACI Africa that Local Ordinaries in Nigeria had invited the Clergy, women and men Religious and the Laity, including Catechists to be the monitors of what is going on, and inspired by Synodality, “to courageously speak up against these abuses.”