Laity Council Condemns Refusal of Nomination of Bishop

By David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

The Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria (CLCN) has condemned the priests and lay faithful of Ahiara Diocese over the protracted crisis in the diocese resulting from their refusal to accept the nomination of Bishop Peter Okpaleke as its bishop.

The council in a press conference on Monday in Awka said the Mbaise people who mostly constitute the Ahiara Diocese have brought shame on the Catholic Church by refusing to accept Bishop Okpaleke, despite the intervention of the Holy Father, Pope Francis.

The chairman of the CLCN, Mr Chizoba Nnagboh, who addressed journalists said: “The CLCN is completely scandalised and bewildered by the uncharitable and venomous utterances used against the hierarchy of the church by priests and lay faithful of the diocese.

“Is it not sad that priests of the Catholic Church could defy papal authority? We cannot profess to be Catholics while our word and actions show the antithesis.”

He called on them to tread the path of peace and retrace their steps and respect the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, saying that the council frowns on such act and seriously repudiates the name calling, denigration and blackmail of the church by the people of the diocese.

Details later…