AHIARA DIOCESE IN CROSSHAIRS: THE REAL STORIES …44 [EXCERPTS FROM A BOOK IN PRINT]

Chapter 17: Verdict is for Justice [ii]

As the announcement was being made at the Vatican on the morning of July 3rd, Cardinal Onaiyekan was preparing to attend the Episcopal ordination of the bishop-elect of Nsukka Diocese, Msgr. Godfrey Igwebuike Onah, scheduled for the very next day at Nsukka Diocese of Enugu State. Cardinal Onaiyekan immediately rerouted his flight from Abuja to Sam Mbakwe Airport, Imo State, where he made straight to Ahiara Diocese to meet up with the administrator, Msgr. Theo Nwalo, and present himself as the new administrator of our beloved diocese.

Addressing Msgr. Nwalo, the administrator of Ahiara Diocese and the members of the college of consultors, Cardinal Onaiyekan told them “I am not here to play games … I believe that this standoff in Ahiara Diocese should be over by now.” Reporting on how his appointment came about, he said that Fernando Cardinal Filoni, the prefect for the Office of Evangelization of Peoples at the Vatican told him to go to Ahiara Diocese and resolve the problem there. Continuing Cardinal Onaiyekan told his audience on that day that Rome had given him “a blank cheque” on the issue of the crisis in Ahiara Diocese. According to him, Rome wanted him to use his initiatives to try to resolve the crisis in Ahiara Diocese. Thereafter he showed the administrator and the college of consultors the letter of his appointment and left its photocopy with them.

The news of the appointment of Cardinal Onaiyekan and his sudden appearance in Ahiara Diocese on that day would elicit such a tumultuous joyful celebration throughout Ahiara Diocese. Within ten minutes of the announcement, the cathedral compound had filled up with priests and lay people singing, beating their drums, dancing profusely and shooting cannons into the air. The atmosphere throughout Ahiara Diocese on that day would be described as electric. People could not contain themselves with joy. The unthinkable had happened and very quickly too. Our diocese that was thought to be on the verge of being dissolved and liquidated by the Vatican suddenly received a new infusion of life from the Holy Spirit and the Holy Father. It was heavenly wondrous, to say the very least.

Before he continued his journey to Nsukka Diocese for the Episcopal ordination of Msgr. Godfrey Onah, Cardinal Onaiyekan would schedule to make a formal visitation to Ahiara Diocese beginning from July 19, 2013.

The announcement that Cardinal Onaiyekan had been appointed the Apostolic Administrator of Ahiara Diocese during the ordination of Bishop Onah would cause such a stir in the celebration. First, the secretary general of CBCN, Fr Ralph Madu, while introducing the other bishops present at the occasion also introduced Bishop Peter Okpalaeke who was also present as the bishop of Ahiara Diocese. The few people who had known the new situation would react by shifting in their seats and shaking their heads.

However, after Fr Ralph Madu’s assignment had been concluded, then came the time the president of Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama was to address the congregation. While welcoming the new bishop and thanking everybody present, he would use the opportunity to announce that Cardinal Onaiyekan had been appointed the apostolic administrator of Ahiara Diocese. And the congregation exploded in all sorts of reactions. Some clapped and cheered while others were agitated and questioned about what would become of Bishop Okpalaeke who had earlier been announced for the diocese.

Immediately the cardinal departed for Nsukka, life returned to Ahiara Diocese. Suddenly the entire diocese was on celebration mood. Series of meetings of the priests and the lay people were scheduled to plan the reception to be accorded to our new apostolic administrator on his maiden official visit to the diocese. The defunct pastoral council was resuscitated and given a new mandate to help organize the reception. The priests of the diocese were broken into committees to ensure that the cardinal had a memorable visitation and a taste of the great hospitality spirit of the Mbaise people.

Ceremonies marking the cardinal’s official visit to Ahiara Diocese beginning from July 19 would be cut down drastically at the request of the cardinal himself. On the first full day of the cardinal’s visit, being Saturday, July 20, 2013, he would celebrate a holy Mass with the priests of Ahiara Diocese. In his homily and statement during the mass ably transcribed by people on the ground on that day, the cardinal noted as follows:

May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen.

First of all, I thank Mons. Nwalo and all of you, the presbyterium of Ahiara diocese for the warm welcome you have given to me since my appointment by the Holy See as the Apostolic Administrator of the diocese. Your enthusiastic and loyal acceptance of this last intervention of the Holy See is a sign of better days ahead. May the Spirit of the Lord continue to guide us all along the way of love, unity and peace. Amen.

I presume that we are all agreed that the situation of the diocese in the last few months is an anomaly that should not be allowed to persist any longer. The apparent condition of “impasse” is in no-one’s favour, except in favour of the enemies of the Church. There must be a way out of the impasse.

A lot has happened in the last few months. Positions have been taken and utterances made which have given rise to a crisis that ought not to have been. We must now be ready to leave the past behind us and face the future with a new sense of deep faith in God and in his Church of which we are all proud to be loyal sons and daughters. We are in the Year of Faith. We need to affirm and deepen our faith in God and in the mystery of the Church, which is not only human but above all divine, like her divine Founder. To believe in the Church as mystery is to trust that God is acting in the Church in a way fully known to Him alone.

Our faith tells us that God constantly acts in human affairs, especially in the community of faith gathered in his name. Our first reading of today from the Book of Exodus is one of many biblical references to such divine action in the history of the people of Israel, the image of the Church, the new People of God. With powerful arms, God led the Israelites out of the slavery of Egypt. The text says that there were about 600,000 men on the march, not counting women and children. If we count them, and allowing for an average of five members in each family, we will be talking of an immense caravan of about 3 million people. We are told that other oppressed people of all sorts joined them. We are not to forget their animals too.

This was after 430 years in Egypt, since their arrival there under Joseph in search of food in the midst of famine. Gen. 46:26 remarks that the house of Jacob that went to settle in Egypt was made up of 70 persons, including Joseph and his two sons. By the mysterious plan of God, Jacob left the Promised Land on self-exile to Egypt, where God made a nation out of his family. Psalm 135 celebrates the wonderful work of God, which was totally against all human reckoning.

In our search for peace, unity and reconciliation, we must rely on the almighty hand of God who can do all wonders. Paul in 2Cor 5:19 tells us that God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, and has entrusted to us the news that this reconciliation between God and the world has taken place. This is also the guarantee of the reconciliation between human beings among themselves. If we are ambassadors of God’s reconciliation, it is all the more expected of us to be a clear sign of that reconciliation with God and among ourselves.

We shall be fully and genuinely reconciled if we seek the will of God, guided by the Holy Spirit, and listening to his promptings and inspiration, as he speaks to us in different ways and at times from the most unexpected direction. But he certainly speaks to us through the authentic voice of the Church, built on the solid rock that is Peter, who today is in the person of Francis, our Pope. If we are to hear what the Spirit is saying to us, we must be prepared to relinquish rigid positions, be careful about our utterances and discourage rumours that foment divisions and rancor. We have to do all we can to build up in our diocese the Church of God that is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. In particular, the apostolicity of the Church in any place is guaranteed by the diocesan bishop, who is in collegiality cum et sub Petro, and through Peter, in communion with the college of bishops all over the world. It is this college of bishops properly understood that are the authentic successors of the apostles. Any local Church not within this college is like a branch cut off from the tree, dangling lifeless and fruitless on its own, a tragedy we must do all we can to avoid.

We all know that the bishop in the diocese is the chief shepherd over the entire family of God in the diocesan community. The presbyterium in particular have a duty to submit to the authority of the bishop since they have no independent pastoral mandate over the people of God without, less still against the Episcopal mandate of the diocesan bishop. On the other hand, the clergy are the “closest and necessary collaborators of the bishop” in shepherding the flock. The bishop cannot operate without the clergy. There is therefore a joint responsibility, each in his own appropriate level. In the Church of God, there is no alternative to this divinely established structure.

It is on this understanding that I have accepted the extra burden of being the Apostolic Administrator of this diocese. As I have already said on the day of the announcement in your bishop’s house to your Monsignor Nwalo and the Board of Consultors, I cannot but work with the clergy on ground and the structures in place. I am offering you, the diocesan curia and indeed the rest of you the clergy of Ahiara, diocesan and religious, my sincere confidence and trust to keep the affairs of the diocese running smoothly. I stretch to you all my hand of fellowship. On your part, I expect loyalty to your ordinary in utterances and pastoral activities. All this is necessary to get my job done as quickly as possible. It is my priority concern to ensure the unity of the entire presbyterium among themselves as a priestly family, in loyalty to the Church, all for the good of souls. Salus animarum, the first law of the Church, this must take priority over all other considerations. As shepherds in the Church of God, we have a sacred duty not to confuse, less still mislead the flock of Christ, “the Church of God, which he bought with the blood of his own Son”. (cf the speech of St. Paul to the elders of Ephesus at Miletus, Acts 20:28.)

Finally, I wish to take this opportunity to commend and congratulate Mons. Theophilus Nwalo for the generous service he has rendered to the Church of Ahiara under not so easy circumstances. May God reward his efforts. I thank him for agreeing to be among my most valuable advisers and consultants during my hopefully brief period of assignment here.

I also take this opportunity to inform you all that I have appointed Rev. Fr. Louis Asiegbu as the Vicar General of the diocese during my short term as Apostolic Administrator. Since I am still busy with my primary assignment as Archbishop of Abuja and with many other engagements, I will not be able to spend much time in Ahiara. I need someone who can be for me and for you a point of reference. As Vicar General, he will stand in for me in my absence from the diocese. I thank Fr. Asiegbu for accepting this assignment. I recommend him to all of you. I am confident that you will receive him with the enthusiasm and loyalty that you have so far demonstrated in my regard.

I end by recalling the sweet memory of your great apostle and pioneer bishop, the late Victor Chikwe. May his gentle soul rest in peace. May our Holy Mother Mary, Mother of the Church continue to cover with her mantle of protection the Church of Ahiara, dedicated to her patronage. Amen.

The major development on this first full day of the cardinal’s visit would be the appointment of Rev. Fr. Professor Louis Asiegbu as the vicar general of the diocese taking over from Msgr. Theo Nwalo who had been serving as the diocesan administrator since the death of Bishop Chikwe in September of 2010.

The high point of Cardinal Onaiyekan’s official visit to Ahiara Diocese would be the mass he celebrated for the people of the diocese on Sunday, July 21, 2013. The mass attracted one of the biggest crowds in the history of Mbaise people. Among those present at the mass were the who’s who in Mbaise, from politicians of high repute to the other professionals and technocrats. The governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and a good number of his cabinet were present. So also present were, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, Senator Chris N.D. Anyanwu and Her Excellency, Professor Viola Adaku Onwuliri, Honourable Minister of State 1 for Foreign Affairs and a host of many others.

The major highlight of the day would include the welcome address presented to the cardinal by the priests and laity of Mbaise. Some excerpts of the address read:

What a wonderful day the Lord has made! And what a great joy for us to have Your Eminence in our midst as the Apostolic Administrator of our beloved Diocese of Ahiara, Mbaise! We say thank you for accepting to be our Apostolic Administrator. We therefore ask Your Eminence to convey our deepest gratitude, love and loyalty to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, for his solicitude and kindness towards our diocese. But how did we become this blessed and privileged for the Holy Father to send the most distinguished cleric in Nigeria to come down to us and take charge of our troubled diocese and despairing spirit? Are we that special in the eyes of God and the Holy Father as to be blessed with a personality as great as His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, as the Apostolic Administrator of our diocese? This is surely a clear case of God lifting up the lowliest from the dung-heap and placing them on a throne. What a great miracle! ……………………………………..It is important to let Your Eminence know from the start about the great havoc the controversial choice of Bishop Ebere Peter Okpalaeke as the bishop of Ahiara Diocese had wreaked in the spirituality and psyche of the great Catholics of Ahiara Diocese. It was an ill-advised choice that succeeded only in multiplying and compounding the great pains we had been feeling over the sudden death of our beloved first bishop, Most Rev. Victor Adibe Chikwe. Bishop Okpaleke’s appointment for Ahiara Diocese succeeded in extending our mourning over our late bishop for a considerable length of time. It was indeed a nightmare that defied the understanding of even the most loyal catholic in Mbaise. ……………………………………………………………All that Mbaise Catholics are asking for is justice, far-play and due process. Let what is due to a people be given to them. Let no people use their privileged positions in the Catholic Church as a cover and leverage to foster modern-day colonization and domination of their brothers and sisters. Let the new commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ reign again in the Catholic Church in Igboland. This is both our plea and our prayer.………………………………………………………In the person of Your Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, the Holy Spirit through our beloved Holy Father, Pope Francis, made a great choice of a fair-minded administrator and arbitrator. In the past several years, your Eminence has been exhibiting sterling qualities of objectivity, impartiality and single-mindedness. It has never been said of Your Eminence that you could compromise justice or condone issues of injustice. Rather, Your Eminence has always been seen as a far-looking visionary who is imbued with a deep faith and brotherly solicitude for all. In Your Eminence, we see a Daniel that has come to judge our case justly and truthfully. We will therefore expect nothing less from Your Eminence. ………………………………………………………..It might also interest Your Eminence to know that you have arrived in the land of the unquenchable fountain of religious vocations. This is the land that produced the great religious woman leader and administrator who would go on to become the First African and black Superior General of a religious congregation in the person of the late Mother Gertrude Waturuocha of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus………………………….It is important to remind Your Eminence that you have come to the land that produced such great spiritual leaders as late Msgr. Edward Ahaji, who was considered the John Baptist Mary Vianney of his time, and our very amiable late Bishop Victor Adibe Chikwe, who proved himself while he lived to be one of the most successful bishops in the history of Igbo Catholicism. We cannot forget to let Your Eminence know that you are in the land of late Msgr. Ignatius Mmereole Okoroanyanwu, who, as a young priest assisted by Fr. Theo Nwalo, accepted the heavy burden of the war-ravaged Owerri Diocese, then the biggest diocese in Africa, from the hands of expelled Irish Missionaries, and ably carried her through the treacherous post-civil war months, right into the safe hands of Bishop Mark Unegbu when the latter become ordained as the second bishop of Owerri Diocese in September of 1970……………………………………………..Welcome to the land of a vibrant Lay Faithful who, with a torch of faith from home, have lit the light of true catholic spirituality and advanced the course of evangelization in many parts of Nigeria. Welcome to the home land of Vivian Uchechi Ogu, our local Saint Maria Goretti, who died a Martyr in defence of her purity in Benin City on November 15th 2009…………………………………. Having been made an Mbaise citizen by this papal appointment, Your Eminence has become one of us forever. When your work in Ahiara diocese finishes in glory as we hope and pray it will, we will always ask you to come down to Ahiara Diocese and remain with us for a while.

May the good Lord who chose Your Eminence for this special apostolate in Ahiara Diocese help bring it to a successful conclusion. Amen.

Among those who would speak quite eloquently on the need for the cardinal to help realize the holy wishes of Mbaise people were Rt. Honourable Emeka Ihedioha, who, though of the Anglican Communion, came to the mass to demonstrate to the cardinal how united Mbaise people were in demanding that an Mbaise son be appointed the bishop of Ahiara Diocese. Also speaking on the same vein, His Excellency, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Executive governor of Imo State used humour and idioms to drive home to the cardinal that what the people of Mbaise were asking for was what was due to them. He urged the cardinal to work hard to accomplish the mission the Holy Father had entrusted to him in Ahiara Diocese.

After the Mass Cardinal Onaiyekan kicked off what became a series of consultations he would have with the different groups of the diocese. He started immediately after the mass by consulting with all those who had returned home from the various cities within and outside Nigeria for the purpose of participating in the epoch-making event. He met separately with a strong delegation that had come all the way from the United States of America led by Dr. Jude Iheoma. All those the cardinal would consult with on that very day left with him one clear and unmistakable message, namely, that the issue of Bishop Okpalaeke serving even for one moment as the bishop of Ahiara Diocese should be consigned to distant memory.

According to the various groups of people that met with the cardinal, Mbaise people would not be satisfied with anything less than a bishop that would be appointed according to the criteria the Holy Father Pope Francis recently laid down in his recent pronouncements. As a result of that pronoucement of Pope Francis, Mbaise people demanded a bishop from Mbaise who met all the conditions the pope itemized in his speech to the Nuncios of the world on June 20, 2013.

In the next four days of the visit, Cardinal Onaiyekan would meet with Ahiara Diocesan presbyterium, members of the pastoral council of Ahiara Diocese, Catholic Women of Organization [CWO], Catholic Youth Organization of Nigeria [CYON], Ezuru Ezu Mbaise, Traditional Rulers, the Knights of the Church – knights of St John and knights of St Mulumba, and a host of other people who came to consult with him either as individuals or as groups. Besides the insistence by all groups urging the cardinal to immediately begin the process of appointing a new bishop for Ahiara Diocese that would be of Mbaise origin, there were a few memorable events during those meetings.

In his several meetings and interactions with the priests and religious of Ahiara Diocese, Cardinal Onaiyekan got an earful of how any attempt to impose Bishop Okpalaeke on Mbaise people would inflict a mortal damage on the Church of Ahiara Diocese by splintering the clergy and religious into several contending factions and hobbling the progress of the Catholic Church in the very stronghold of Catholicism in Nigeria. The cardinal was pleaded with to ensure that the issue of trying to bring Bishop Okpalaeke to Ahiara was put to rest once and for all. According to many of the priests and religious who spoke both in public and privately to the cardinal, it would be the greatest disservice to the Catholic Church in Nigeria and in Mbaise in particular if crisis was allowed to fester by insisting that Bishop Okpalaeke comes to Ahiara Diocese. The wise thing to do would be to give Bishop Okpalaeke another assignment around his home while a new bishop would be immediately appointed for the vacant Episcopal See of Ahiara Diocese.

There would be so many landmark and memorable events that took place during the several consultations the cardinal would hold with the different groups from Ahiara Diocese. The first of those memorable events would take place in the meeting between the cardinal and the members of the Ahiara Diocesan Pastoral Council. A patriotic citizen of Mbaise got hold of the home newspaper of the Cardinal, The Good Shepherd, published by the Archdiocese of Abuja whose bishop is Cardinal Onaiyekan. In one of the recent issues of the newspaper, it was claimed that what Cardinal Onaiyekan was going to do with his recent appointment as the apostolic administrator of Ahiara Diocese was to provide a soft-landing for the newly consecrated Bishop Peter Okpalaeke to come in and take his seat as the diocesan bishop. The Good Shepherd Newspaper containing this vital information was sent over to the former chairman of the pastoral council of Ahiara Diocese, Dr Festus Nguma, to prepare him to put forward a question to the cardinal in that regard.

As the pastoral council began its meeting with the apostolic administrator, Dr Nguma shot his hand up and told the cardinal that if he had come to Ahiara Diocese to provide a soft-landing to the rejected Bishop Okpalaeke in Ahiara Diocese as his newspaper, The Good Shepherd of Abuja Archdiocese, had declared he would do, he would want to inform His Eminence that his journey to Ahiara Diocese would become a mission impossible. Dr Nguma would tell the cardinal without mincing his words that it would not be useful for him to waste his time in Ahiara Diocese if he had not come to help Mbaise realize the demand that a bishop be appointed from the numerous Mbaise sons in the Catholic priesthood. He advised His Eminence, Cardinal Onaiyekan not to allow himself to be turned into a Pontius Pilate in Ahiara Diocese by the Nigerian Church hierarchy.

Immediately Cardinal Onaiyekan heard this accusation and the newspaper in question brandished before him by Dr Nguma, he was terribly agitated and would spend the next several minutes defending himself against the publication. He said that he was not at home when the publication was made, that he was in Congo. Cardinal Onaiyekan insisted that the editor of the Good Shepherd Newspaper did not get his permission neither did he interview him before publishing the claim. He assured the members of the pastoral council that there was no substance to the declaration in the Good Shepherd newspaper and that he had already queried the editor for that erroneous publication.

On the allegation in the newspaper article that he was coming to instal Bishop Okpalaeke in Ahiara Diocese, Cardinal Onaiyekan told the pastoral council members that if the Holy Father’s mandate was to come to Ahiara and instal Bishop Okpalaeke, he would have sent a cleric of his calibre. Cardinal Onaiyekan emphasized the fact that he had come to Ahiara Diocese with an open-mind as he was sent by the Holy Father. His role according to him would be to observe the situation and make recommendation to the Holy Father. He told the audience to disregard any rumour or insinuation that went contrary to the statement he had made to them.

On their part, members of the CWO complained to the cardinal that Bishop Okpalaeke would be a total misfit in the bishopric of Ahiara Diocese. According to them, the new bishop had already tipped his hand as a bishop who would not improve the faith and morality of Catholics in Ahiara Diocese with the people he had chosen to prepare the grounds for his apostolate in the diocese. The members of the CWO claimed that the new bishop chose those who were morally bankrupt as his front men and women in Ahiara Diocese. For them it boiled down to the fact that if he were to be allowed to become the bishop of Ahiara Diocese he would immediately run aground the high standard of morality and faith that had long become the hallmark of the diocese.

Continuing from where the CWO had stopped with their accusations, the members of the Catholic Youth Organization of Nigeria, Ahiara Diocese, produced documents which they claimed demonstrated the fact that the new bishop and/or his agents had been going about bribing young people to support them in their quest to assume the bishopric of Ahiara Diocese. The youths said that a bishop that would begin his apostolate with bribery and corruption whether done personally or through his agents would most certainly destroy the wonderful Catholic faith of the Mbaise people. The youths claimed that it was mainly for the afore-mentioned reason that they had vowed to make sure he did not become the bishop of Ahiara Diocese.

The cardinal’s meeting with the knights of the Church was well documented by Barrister Chibueze Okorie, a legal luminary who had been working hard to ensure that the truth of the crisis was not covered up by layers of calumny the adversaries of Mbaise people had unleashed throughout the world. Some excerpts of Barrister Okorie’s report read thus:

The Cardinal opened the audience by stating that the meeting was a "dialogue" on how to move the diocese forward from the present situation of things. He clearly stated that his mission too was to consult and hear the people and thereafter write his report making recommendations to the Holy Father. He then asked for contributions from the House.

A member of the Knights of St. Mulumba, launched a diatribe of how our Ahiara Priests had turned the Bishopric issue into a political matter. Subsequently, Sir F. G. Njoku of the Knights of St. John told the cardinal that the issue was simply one of effective evangelization and that the desire of Mbaise people was for a Bishop who was close enough to them so as to understand their aspirations and be in the best position to effectively evangelize.

The Cardinal then asked for the leadership of both Orders to speak and present the opinions of their respective orders. The Knights of St. Mulumba came with a prepared text read by Sir Bob Teteh. The order rattled the same stuff they had been saying all the while. He stated that our people had been praying fervently for a Successor to Bishop Chikwe such that when the announcement of the appointment of a Bishop on December 7, 2012 was made, it was received with great joy and jubilation. But in just a few days, some politically minded priests turned the tide of the opinion and started to protest the appointment in flagrant violation of their vow of obedience. Mr. Bob Teteh stated that the Knights of St. Mulumba were totally in support of the appointment of Bishop Okpaleke and would continue to support the Pope and whoever he decided to appoint should he reverse the appointment of Okpaleke and appoint another Bishop in His place. Mr Teteh ended by submitting their written text to the Cardinal.

The Knights of St. John spoke through Prof. Paschal Okorie. He did not read a prepared text, but he had his notes on basic points he wanted to stress. Okorie started by calling the attention of the Cardinal that he was the Chairman of the Diocesan Pastoral Council and had been in the thick of this whole crisis. He told the Cardinal that since the appointment of Okpaleke our Diocese had known no peace or joy. The majority of our people, he said were unhappy and the appointment had brought division in an otherwise peaceful, progressive diocese. He told the Cardinal that in such a situation there can be no development, pointing out that Bishop Chikwe was not just Bishop to the Catholics of Mbaise, that he brought a lot of development to our people. He stated that the Knights of St. John deliberately decided not to escalate the crisis by making publications that essentially would not help the situation. In doing that, he said, we were keeping the instructions of our Priest Spiritual Advisers. He stated that in the Order of the Knights of St. John the Chaplain is the first officer and we follow his directions. He asked the Cardinal how seemly it would be that a priest finishes his sermon or instructions and is challenged by his audience. Okorie said that the heart of the matter was in the irregular manner of appointing the Bishop. He drew the Cardinal's attention to what Archbishop Obinna told our people assembled in Pastoral Council during one of such dialogues about this matter. He said that Archbishop Obinna told us that the Pope was presented with three names, the first being of our diocese who declined, then the second name being Okpaleke who was then appointed. Okorie said that his question as to how it came about that the name of a priest from far away Awka appeared in the Ahiara list was not and has never been explained to our people. Okorie told the Cardinal that the apparent injustice and lopsided nature of appointments of Bishops was upsetting to our people. He asked the Cardinal if anything was wrong with appointing the Bishop from among the people; whether that is not what the Church has done from earliest times.

Cardinal Onaiyekan would conclude his first official visit to Ahiara Diocese as the Apostolic Administrator on Wednesday July 24, 2013. All through the visit he was left with an unmistakable impression that Mbaise people were completely united in their rejection of Bishop Okpalaeke as the bishop-elect of Ahiara Diocese. It was made abundantly clear to him that any attempt to impose Okpalaeke on the people of Ahiara Diocese would not only scatter the flock of Jesus Christ in the diocese but would ultimately kill the Catholic Church in the famed “Ireland of Nigeria.”

As Cardinal Onaiyekan was about to board his flight back to Abuja, he was promised that a document specifying the reasons why Bishop Okpalaeke would never be acceptable to the people of Ahiara Diocese would be sent to him as he had requested. It would be recalled that in one of the interactions with the priests of Ahiara Diocese, Cardinal Onaiyekan had requested that a detailed account of why Bishop Okpalaeke would be unsuitable to serve as a bishop in Ahiara Diocese be given to him. He told the priests that having read all their prior submissions about Bishop Okpalaeke and the Ahiara Diocese, that he wanted those killer points why he would be a total misfit to serve as a bishop in the diocese. It was this request of Cardinal Onaiyekan that would inform some hurried efforts to rehash some of the points about the person of Bishop Okpalaeke that had not been included in the earlier petition against his episcopacy in Ahiara Diocese.

As Cardinal Onaiyekan got prepared to go through security into the waiting room of Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, he was pleaded with to deliver his report on what he had seen and observed while in Ahiara Diocese to the Holy Father so that the process to find a credible bishop for Ahiara Diocese might begin.