Lagos, 26 September, 2022 / 10:20 am (ACI Africa).
There is need to heed to the appeal that St. Paul makes in his Letter to Timothy to pray for those in leadership, applying this to Nigeria where those at the helm of the government have not met citizens’ expectations, a Catholic Archbishop in the West African nation has said.
Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins who was speaking during the celebration of the new Legal Year Mass for the Association of Catholic Lawyers in Nigeria on Sunday, September 18 was reflecting on the Second Reading of the Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time in which St. Paul appeals for prayers for all, and singles out those in position of leadership.
“We take it for granted that we must pray for one another. I am not sure it comes normally to us to pray for the government and those who rule within the government,” Archbishop Adewale during his September 18 homily.
He added, “It does not easily come to us especially if we believe that we do not have a good government in place or if the government does not meet our expectations or it falls short of carrying out its responsibilities towards the citizens.”
In spite of all the limitations of the Nigerian government, the Local Ordinary of Lagos Archdiocese in Nigeria said, “St. Paul advises us today to pray for those who exercise political power and everyone in authority.”