Sudden “Invitation to Rome” Angers Ahiara Faithful

[Ahiara Catholic Faithful Response to the invitation to Rome]

The faithful of the Catholic Diocese of Ahiara, Mbaise, Imo State, rose from their emergency plenary meeting on Tuesday afternoon, May 23, 2017, fuming and condemning a sudden “invitation to convocation in Rome” which was said to have been extended to them by the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Fernando Cardinal Filoni, through the Apostolic Nunciature In Nigeria and John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Apostolic Administrator of the diocese.

The grouse of the faithful of the diocese was that the so-called “convocation in Rome” was not only too sudden for them to prepare very well for it but had ab initio been skewed against them and their aspirations to have a bishop for their diocese appointed from among the priests of their diocesan presbyterium in line with the mind of the Holy Father, Pope Francis.

There was a general apprehension among the Catholic faithful in attendance at that meeting that the Apostolic Administrator of Ahiara Diocese, His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, with the help of a few other bishops of Nigeria opposed to the aspirations of the faithful of Ahiara Diocese had manipulated the so-called convocation in Rome to favour the eight priests that still hold out in support of the rejected and impeded Bishop Peter Okpalaeke in Ahiara Diocese. According to them, Ahiara Diocese was being made to walk into a trap that would ultimately harm the interest of the generality of Mbaise people.

It would be recalled that on May 10, 2017, the chancellor of Ahiara Diocese, Very Rev Fr. Godson Okoro had invited the officials of Ahiara Diocesan Priests Association and read to them from his smart phone a letter marked “CONFIDENTIAL and URGENT” which he said had been sent to him via his email inbox by the Apostolic Administrator of Ahiara Diocese, Cardinal Onaiyekan. The letter was clearly written at the instance of Fernando Cardinal Filoni, Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, to Cardinal Onaiyekan by the Charge d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature In Nigeria, Msgr. Javier D. Fernandez G.

Parts of the letter read thus:

Your Eminence,

The Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples has informed the Apostolic Nunciature [Prot. N. 1312/17 of 3rd April 2017] that, during an Audience with Pope Francis, it was decided to convoke a delegation from the Diocese of Ahiara in Rome from the 4th to the 10th of June 2017. Moreover, Your Eminence is explicitly requested to be present for an Audience with the Holy Father and the Superiors of the Secretariat of State and the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.

The delegation is to be of five persons – priests, religious and laity – who are opposed to the appointment of Most Rev. Peter Okpalaeke as Bishop of Ahiara, and five others – priests, Religious and laity – who accept Bishop Okpaleke’s appointment…..

In this regard, the Apostolic Nunciature respectfully suggests that Professor Viola Adaku Onwuliri, former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Mr John Kennedy Opara, former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, be included as possible members of the delegation…..

Signed:

Msgr. Javier D. Fernandez G.

Charge d’Affairs a.i.

After listening to the first reading of the letter the priests who were gathered at the small meeting were terribly confused. The letter had such obvious misrepresentations and prejudice built into it. First, the letter gave the impression that Ahiara Diocese was divided into two warring blocs, namely, those who are opposed to the appointment of Bishop Okpaleke for Ahiara Diocese and those who are in support of it. But the priests noted that nothing could be further from truth. According to them, there is an almost a total rejection of Bishop Peter Okpaleke in Ahiara Diocese. His rejection rate, according to the priests, is about 99.5%. Only about .5% priests and lay faithful of the diocese support him.

Second, there is an uncharitable misrepresentation and in fact, a stigmatization of innocent Catholics of Ahiara Diocese as “those who are opposed to the appointment of Bishop Okpaleke”. Again, according to the priests, this is furthest from the truth. Those who are being stigmatized in this manner are in fact the hardworking Catholics who are trying hard to save the Catholic Church of the diocese from implosion with their rejection of a bishop who will most certainly wreck the unique Catholicism of the diocese and destroy innocent peoples’ faith in the process.

On recognizing these disturbing observations the priests at that meeting asked to be given copies of the letter for a closer study. But the “confidential” nature of the document would not allow it to be released to them until the chancellor, Fr Okoro, had obtained the explicit permission of the Apostolic Administrator. That done the priests took the document home and studied it.

Meanwhile, both the Charge d’Affaires, Msgr. Fernandez and the Apostolic Administrator, Cardinal Onaiyekan continued their communications on this said convention. On May 12, 2017, the Apostolic Administrator, Cardinal Onaiyekan, wrote to the chancellor, Fr. Okoro, and Fr Ebii thus:

Dear Frs. Ebii and Godson,

Greetings and best wishes from Fatima – on pilgrimage. Find below the notification from the Charge d’Affaires at the Nunciature, Mons. Javier Fernandez. It contains further details about the meeting in Rome. It also reflects the discussions I had with Cardinal Filoni and Parolin in Rome last Wednesday. We pray that this will be indeed a moment of grace to put an end to the long crisis that has lasted too long. It will be an opportunity for us all to confirm and declare our loyalty to the church under the successor of Peter, Pope Francis [emphasis ours]. In addition, I can inform you that Propaganda will arrange accommodation and feeding for the whole group n Rome for the duration of the stay. We have to sort out the travel arrangements. I will get back to you about that when I return home on Monday. May God hear our prayers.

Yours sincerely in Christ.

+John Cardinal Onaiyekan

The attached letter dated May 11, 2017 which the Apostolic Administrator had alluded to reads as follows.

Your Eminence,

I am pleased to inform you that the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples has communicated about the program of the convocation in Rome.

Cardinal Filoni has noted that the convocation will be directed by the Holy Father himself for an Audience together with the Superiors of the Secretariat of State and the Congregation [emphasis ours]. On this regard, the Cardinal Filoni has projected this tentative schedule:

• 5 June: Day of prayer and reflection

• 6-8 June: Audience of the Holy Father

• 9 June: Meeting with the Superiors

• 10 June: Conclusion/travel

Finally, the Prefect asks the names of the ten delegates of the Ahiara Diocese to organize the definitive program. Nevertheless, Cardinal Filoni has emphasized that it is the moment to listen to the Pope and his pronouncement [emphasis ours]

With prayerful good wishes, I remain

Yours sincerely in Christ

Msgr. Javier D. Fernandez G.

Charge d’Affaires, a.i.

After studying the letter for a few days, the officials of Ahiara Diocesan Priests Association and a few other priests assisting them, reconvened on Saturday, May 13, 2017 for a full deliberation on the matter. It was resolved that the concerns of the generality of the Catholic faithful of Ahiara Diocese regarding the “invitation to the convention in Rome” must be made known to the author of the letter, Msgr. Javier Fernandez G., Charge d’Affaires, Apostolic Nunciature In Nigeria, and Cardinal Onaiyekan, the Apostolic Administrator of Ahiara Diocese. Those concerns were articulated in two letters that would be delivered to the Apostolic Nunciature in Nigeria and Apostolic Administrator of Ahiara Diocese on Monday May 15, 2017 by a delegation of five from Ahiara Diocese. Copies of the same letters were also made available to the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the Secretary of State in the Vatican, the CBCN President in Abuja, and the Metropolitan Archbishop Obinna of Owerri Province.

The first letter entitled Re: The Response of the Ahiara Diocesan Presbyterium to the invitation letter via Cardinal Onaiyekan from the Apostolic Nunciature in Abuja, Nigeria [Ref. Apostolic Nunciature in Nigeria No 8534/17] reads in part thus:

…. Indeed, this invitation is a relief to us and a pleasant surprise that has delighted us greatly. We lack words to express our joy. As the Holy Father has repeatedly said, the year of mercy is never over. In this invitation we see a fulfillment of these words. Hence, we wish to express our appreciation for this welcome development to address the issue of the rejection of the appointment of Most Rev. Peter Okpaleke as the Bishop of Ahiara Diocese by the priests and laity of the diocese. This is an issue for which we have consistently appealed to the Holy Father. And now he has shown that he has heard us. Hence, as a gesture of our own appreciation, WE ACCEPT THE INVITATION TO ATTEND, but beg for enough time to prepare to attend….

Accordingly, we beg the Holy Father to give us more time to prepare to come. As the new nuncio is en route to Nigeria to take his seat, we appeal to the Holy Father that by then we would have prepared to undertake this journey with our new nuncio.

Having accepted to attend, given enough time to prepare, we wish to respectfully raise the following concerns; not, however, as any condition to attend:

1. Means of communication:

We are worried that we are invited to attend such an important meeting in the Vatican without any direct and official invitation to us. All we have seen is that a private confidential letter was written to the Cardinal.

1. Poor Characterization:

Part of your letter seems to distort the reality on ground in Ahiara Diocese. The true situation in the diocese is not that of opposition, but a total rejection of the appointment of Bishop Okpaleke as Bishop of Ahiara by about 99.5% of the priests and laity of the diocese. There is an emphatic Mbaise rejection.

1. Composition of Delegation:

We are also concerned that some of the Episcopal participants in the proposed meeting, whose names appear above, as communicated to us by Cardinal Onaiyekan, are those whose bias against us has been clearly manifested. They have a dog in the fight. Their impartiality has always been in doubt.

1. Misrepresentation of our Diocese:

The picture painted in your letter, which seems to imply that there are two existing parallel presbyteria, is a clear misrepresentation of our diocese. However, for the sake of the record, there is only one presbyterium in Ahiara Diocese. Moreover, the eight priests out of more than two hundred incardinated priests, pretending to support the appointment of Bishop Okpaleke, were the ones Cardinal Onaiyekan had aptly described before the bishops during their conference in 2013 at Oturkpo in Benue State, Nigeria, as “priests of questionable character.” Some of them were also under various forms of sanctions under the late Bishop Chikwe, which is the reason why they are in opposition to the diocese.

1. In view of some clandestine meetings involving, the ‘priests of questionable

character,’ and some sponsors of Bishop Okpaleke, including influential politicians from Awka Diocese and Anambra State; we also have the concern that this invitation might be a way to facilitate a violent installation of Bishop Okpaleke in our diocese. Traumatic experiences, where this group has used thugs and military forces to invade rectories and even the diocesan cathedral, are still fresh in our minds. These were all brought to the attention of the Apostolic Administrator, Cardinal Onaiyekan and the Metropolitan, Archbishop Obinna.

The letter from the lay people entitled: The Response of the Ahiara Diocesan Laity to the Invitation to Rome, follows a similar path like those of the Ahiara Diocesan Presbyterium;

…. We are deeply pleased with this development and thank the Holy Father for this gesture of goodwill. Prior to this announcement our eyes were already turned to the Holy Father waiting for a final determination of our case in view of the several appeals we have made to him concerning the precarious situation of our diocese.

Our diocese has been through hell since she lost her shepherd to death in 2010. We have endured four years of sacramental starvation when we have had no Episcopal administration of the sacrament in our diocese. We have watched our candidates for the sacraments of confirmation and priestly ordination languish unendingly without any help whatsoever from our Apostolic Administrator, His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan. We have been denied Chrism Masses for the past four years.

Additionally, we have also endured series of police harassments and armed molestation from hired hoodlums sponsored by the eight priests in support of Bishop Okpaleke and their agents. All these were in an attempt to effect the imposition of the unacceptable Bishop Okpaleke on our diocese.

Having made our case crystal clear against the appointment of Bishop Okpaleke as the bishop of Ahiara Diocese, we have eagerly waited for the opportunity that this invitation offers us to be present in Rome for a face-to-face discussion.

Hence, we have accepted this invitation to be present in Rome. However, communicate to the Holy Father that we need adequate time to make all the necessary preparations needed to attend since the notice to this effect is TOO SHORT, as we have been shown the letter to the effect of the invitation, today, May 10, 2017. We are not able to use five days to rush a list to the nunciature on such an important journey….

On receiving his own copies of the letters from both the priests and the lay faithful of Ahiara Diocese, the Apostolic Administrator, Cardinal Onaiyekan sent his reply via an email message to AHIARA, which was copied to “Clement Ebii, OWERRI OBINNA, Archbishop Kaigama Ignatius, Nunziatura Apostolica In Nigeria, Bishop Eberechukwu Okpaleke”:

Dear Fr Godson,

Peace be with you.

Copies of the letters submitted to the Charge d’Affaires at the Nunciature yesterday by a delegation from Ahiara Priests’ Association and Laity Council were delivered in my house yesterday evening. The letters were copied to me, among others, but not addressed to me. So this is in no way a reply to them. However, because of my good will for the diocese of Ahiara, permit me to offer candid advice to the authors of the documents as follows:

1. It is not wise to try to force the Pope’s program to suit their convenience.

2. As regards “logistic issues”, I had already told you that we would discuss such details if you bring them to my attention. In this regard, I undertake to cover the cost of the flight tickets for the ten delegates from funds of Ahiara Diocese under my control.

3. As for the stay in Rome, Cardinal Filoni has informed me that his congregation will take care of accommodation and feeding for the duration of the time in Rome.

4. The Nunciature here in Abuja is already prepared to facilitate the Italian visa for all concerned. For this, they need to have the names of the delegates and their passports to the Italian embassy as soon as possible. This was the rationale behind the date of May 15th. There is therefore no time to waste.

Kindly bring this to the attention of all concerned, especially to Rev. Fr. Austin Ekechukwu, to whom I send by best regards.

Yours sincerely in Christ

+John Cardinal Onaiyekan.

At 3.00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23, 2017, the representatives of the 73 parishes in Ahiara Diocese arrived for the emergency meeting at Maria Mater Ecclesiae Cathedral to deliberate on the so-called “invitation to Convocation in Rome.” First, participants regretted the oral nature of the invitation to the convocation. According to many people who spoke about the invitation, it was a cause for a grave concern and suspicion that the Catholic Diocese of Ahiara Mbaise was not officially and directly invited to the convocation in Rome. The invitation to such an important event was sent to them through an Apostolic Administrator whom they had long ago lost confidence in. According to them, what could have removed any shred of doubt and suspicion on the sincerity of the invitation to the convocation was a written invitation directed to the priests and laity of Ahiara Diocese from the Office of the Secretary of State in the Vatican. They regretted that the channels through which the invitation reached them were exactly the ones that had not served them honestly well in the past.

For many participants at the meeting, the Apostolic Administrator tipped his biased hand about the tendentious nature of the convocation when he said that “it [convocation] will be an opportunity for us all to confirm and declare our loyalty to the church under the successor of Peter, Pope Francis [emphasis ours].” He also said in his May 11 2017 communication that, “it [convocation] is the moment to listen to the Pope and his pronouncement.” According to them the convocation had already been prejudged. It had reached its conclusion before even it got started. What the Ahiara Diocesan delegation would be expected to do at the convocation in Rome with the present arrangement was to listen to the Holy Father’s pronouncements, declare their loyalty to Him as the Successor of Peter and return home to announce his pronouncements to the languishing faithful of the diocese. They argued that such an activity might be in futility and would not resolve the crisis in the diocese. According to them, while listening to the Pope and declaring loyalty to him would be the most appropriate thing to do at the right time, what was most urgent right now was resolving the longstanding crisis in Ahiara Diocese with the removal of the unacceptable and unsuitable Bishop Peter Okpaleke. Unless the convocation in Rome would assure of that it would not be worth the attendance of Ahiara Diocesan delegation.

Speaker after speaker lamented the fact that the Apostolic Administrator was making the Mbaise people appear disloyal and bad before the rest of the world. According to them, there had never been any question about the loyalty of Mbaise Catholics to the Holy Father. They said, “it was because of our loyalty to the Holy Father that we have been appealing to him to redress a grave injustice that was done to us. Our whole approach to the crisis has been to appeal to the Holy Father for his merciful review of a terrible injustice done to Mbaise people. But the Apostolic Administrator gives the impression that we had been disloyal to the Holy Father to the effect that when we arrive in Rome the first duty we would be required to do is to reconfirm our loyalty to him. This is prejudice at its worst.”

Many speakers lamented that the Apostolic Administrator was continuing the same trend of injustice and deceit that marked the appointment of Bishop Okpaleke for Ahiara Diocese especially when he equated 99.5% of the entire population of Ahiara Diocese that rejects Bishop Okpaleke with the .5% of the population that accepts him. “To ask those with 99.5% of the population to send five representatives to Rome and those with .5% of the population to also send five representatives”, they said, demonstrated the type of injustice, deceit and flawed judgment that produced the likes of Bishop Okpaleke in the Nigerian Church.

Some speakers insisted that the so-called “urgency” and “confidentiality” extolled by the communication from the Charge d’Affaires in his letter was a ruse. According to them, if the letter had been truly “urgent,” it could have reached Ahiara Diocesan faithful long before the time it did, namely, May 10, 2017. They traced the chronology of the letter as contained in its main body thus. The Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Cardinal Filoni, sent his letter [prot. N. 1312/17] to the Nunciature in Nigeria on April 3rd 2017. The Nunciature waited for a whopping three weeks [April 25th] to write His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Apostolic Administrator of Ahiara Diocese, in a matter that was considered so “urgent.” And the Apostolic Administrator himself waited for another two weeks (May 10th) to communicate to the people of Ahiara Diocese on the so-called “urgent” matter, thereby allowing them only five days (May 15th) to forward the names of their representatives to the Nunciature. According to some speakers at the meeting, the whole “urgency” in the matter was artificial and a deceit. It was created by the staff of the Nunciature in Nigeria, in collaboration with the Apostolic Administrator himself so as to back Ahiara Diocese into a corner.

Meanwhile, the same Apostolic Administrator had in his secret visit to St Rose Parish, Ihitte Ezinihitte Mbaise, where he met secretly with the pro-Bishop Okpaleke group tipped them off about an event that would bring their representatives to Rome very soon. In other words, the .5% representing the ill-fated cause of Bishop Okpaleke in Ahiara Diocese had had about four months to prepare while a fake urgency of five days was created for Ahiara Diocese. Some speakers noted that this was an act of deceit and lack of sincerity that impugned the motives of the convocation they were being invited to in Rome.

Speaker after speaker would go ahead to question the motive behind the convocation in Rome. According to them, the most natural place for any genuine convocation to resolve the crisis in Ahiara Diocese is Ahiara Diocese itself. They said, “to ship out five people to Rome to represent the interest of nearly one million Catholics of Mbaise origin in a crisis as big as the one raging in Ahiara Diocese at present is no solution at all but a calculated effort by the Apostolic Administrator ‘to continue to kick the can along the road.’” They blamed the Apostolic Administrator for not convening a meeting in Ahiara Diocese to address the crisis rather he preferred always to use the police and hoodlums to harass innocent Catholics who are standing still against injustice.

As the meeting wound down, a consensus developed among participants that Ahiara Diocese would not be presenting any representatives at the convocation in Rome within the present time frame presented to her by the invitation. As indicated in the two letters already presented to the Charge d’Affaires in Apostolic Nunciature In Nigeria, the participants noted that if in the future they are given an adequate time to prepare and a clear signal as to the motive of the convocation, a powerful delegation of Ahiara Diocese will gladly travel to Rome to present their appeal to the Holy Father. With that the meeting rose with a firm resolve that Ahiara Diocese will not be represented in the convocation in Rome that runs from 4th to 10th June 2017.