#ahiara

Ahiara Diocese: We Will Comply With Pope Francis’ Directive – Knights Of St. John

SOURCE: saharareporters.com The Knights of St. John International and Ladies Auxiliary (KSJI), an Order within the Roman Catholic Church, has advised priests and the laity of the Ahiara Diocese in Imo State to fully comply with the directive by Pope Francis. The Pope had directed that it accept Bishop Peter Okpaleke as the ordained Bishop of the diocese. This position is contained in a statement…

Ahiara Catholic Diocese: Gov. Okorocha Tells Priests, Laity To Accept Bishop Okpaleke

SOURCE: saharareporters.com Imo State governor, Mr. Rochas Okorocha, has told the priests and laity in Ahiara Catholic Diocese, Mbaise, to obey the directive of the Pope by accepting Bishop Peter Okpaleke as the Bishop of the Diocese. A statement signed by Mr. Sam Onwuemedo, Chief Press Secretary to Mr. Okorocha, said the governor met with the priests and laity at the headquarters of the Diocese.…

Pope Francis Meets Nigerian Bishops Over Ethnic Crisis Rocking a Catholic Church in Ahiara, Imo State

Pope Francis has intervened in an ethnic crisis involving the Nigerian town of Ahiara, Imo  state, whose bishop, Peter Ebere Okpaleke, appointed by Benedict XVI in 2012, is unwanted  by lay people and priests of the diocese.

Though Okpaleke is an Igbo from Anambra State, the Catholic leaders in Ahiara rejected him because he is not an Igbo man  from Mbaise.   The Vatican Insider said the pope…

By Evaristus Bassey

While I was serving in the Diocese as parish priest, I joked with a non-Catholic friend of mine that if the Pope wanted to speak with me that night it was simple. ‘How? You?’ he asked, looking at me a bit quizzically. ‘Yes. Me.’ I responded. ‘This is how,’ I explained. The Vatican Ambassador to Nigeria (Nuncio) would be called, and he would call my Bishop and my Bishop would call me. And he remarked how greatly organized the Catholic Church was. ‘Yeah. It’s a backlog of 2000 years,’ I said. So by now, the Holy Father would have already been informed of the action of the priests and people of Ahiara Diocese, about their public show of discontent with his choice of a Bishop for them.

By Dr. Ikenna Okafor

The memories of the dramatic reactions to the announcement of Rev. Peter Okpalaeke as the bishop-elect of Ahiara diocese will surely continue to linger even long after the echoes of “war songs” have died down and the issue is laid to rest. From the various battle-cries to the calls for prayer and discernment, opinions that have been expressed on this matter, both publicly and privately, all indicate that this is a moment of great lesson.