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Nigerian Priest Cautions Christian Parents against Celebrities with Questionable Morals

Credit: Luminous Radio Gboko

Christian parents have to be careful about modern-day celebrities, with the ability to influence, inspire, and mentor yet have questionable morals, a Nigerian Catholic Priest has cautioned.

In his homily at the Thanksgiving Mass on the occasion of the 75th Birthday of Bishop Martin Olorunmolu of Nigeria’s Lokoja Diocese,  Fr. George Ehusani said that some of the celebrities are “drug and alcohol addicts” and  “serial polygamists”.

“In the absence of good parenting, adequate evangelization, effective catechesis, and appropriate pastoral care for our children and youth, these celebrities who are themselves often in need of spiritual, psychological, and social rehabilitation, have unfortunately become the prime influencers, the principal inspirers, the key mentors, and the opinion molders and teachers of our vulnerable and gullible young people,” Fr. Ehusani said in his homily during the September 1 event.

In the text of his homily that he shared with ACI Africa, the Nigerian Catholic Priest compares the past and the present, saying, “Christian parenting today involves a lot more effort and investment than was required when Bishop Olorunmolu was growing up.”

Decades ago, children saw their parents, church leaders, and teachers as heroes and mentors to be emulated, Fr. Ehusani said, and lamented that “all that has changed today.”

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Unlike the time Bishop Olorunmolu was growing up when the “principal agents of socialization” were the family, the Church, and the school, the Abuja-based member of the Clergy of Nigeria’s Lokoja Diocese said that modern time has given the responsibility of socialization to social media that is controlled by celebrities.

“With the mobile phone in the hands of our children, the television in our homes, and the billboards littering our towns, villages, and highways, the more powerful influencers of our children’s values today are often social media personalities, popular musicians, Nollywood stars, comedians, and sundry entertainers,” he said.

The Nigerian Catholic Priest who founded the Psycho-Spiritual Institute (PSI), a Catholic entity that specializes in psycho-trauma healing continued, “Many of these celebrities are school dropouts, products of broken homes or dysfunctional families. Many of them are drug and alcohol addicts, serial polygamists, and unrepentant sexual perverts.”

These celebrities who “are regularly recruited as brand ambassadors by corporate organizations” are now the modern social influencers, he lamented, adding that they pose a threat to modern Christian parenting considering that they are rich and famous and have millions of young people following them on their social media and adoring them.

Present day Christian parents need “to do a lot more, with the grace of God,” to salvage their children from the influence of celebrities characterized with questionable morals, Fr. Ehusani emphasized in his September 1 homily on the occasion of the 75th birthday of his Local Ordinary.

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The Catholic Priest who serves as the Executive Director and Lead Faculty of the Lux Terra Leadership Foundation that deals with leadership training cautioned Christian parents against laxity in fostering spiritual values in children on daily basis.

“Your children may not turn out to be good Christian children if all you are able to do is take them to Church every Sunday,” he said. 

Good Christian parents, Fr. Ehusani said, “will need to be Christian parents in all truth and with all seriousness, making your homes domestic Churches, giving loud witness to Christian values, and teaching your children from their earliest days to be signs of contraction to the evil generation, to stand out and shine their light amid the surrounding darkness, and with all boldness to defend the hope that is in them.”

“Since we are celebrating the 75th birthday of our Bishop, I would like to challenge all the senior citizens here present to take responsibility for the future generation,” the member of the Clergy of  Lokoja Diocese said, adding, “Many of our young people are today behaving like sheep without shepherds.”

Fr. Ehusani called upon the experienced “old people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s to help” the young people find life’s ultimate meaning and purpose.

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Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.