Kastina-Ala, 06 July, 2022 / 9:35 pm (ACI Africa).
The selection of candidates for the Episcopal office in the Catholic Church goes beyond ethnic backgrounds and geographical origins, the Apostolic Nuncio in Nigeria has said.
In his message during the Episcopal Ordination of Mons. Isaac Bunde Dugu as the Bishop of Katsina-ala Diocese in Nigeria, Archbishop Antonio Guido Filipazzi highlighted qualities that the Catholic Church prioritizes in the selection of Bishop candidates.
In the Nigerian society, appointments, selections for office, or succession, including faith-based situations, seem to prioritize, as “the most important criterion of judgment, indeed almost the only (one) … the person’s provenance from a territory, from an ethnic group, from a community,” Archbishop Filipazzi is quoted as saying in the Tuesday, July 5 report.
However, the selection of Candidates for the office of Bishop in the Catholic is difference, the representative of the Holy Father in Nigeria said, and explained, “When she (the Church) chooses her shepherds, while also considering these elements, the Church verifies their human, intellectual, moral, spiritual and pastoral qualities.”
“It is not enough that a candidate comes from a particular area, ethnic group, Diocese or State to make him suitable for the Episcopal office,” the Italian-born Archbishop emphasized during the July 1 event.