A COMMUNIQUE ISSUED BY THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF IBADAN ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE AFTER THEIR MEETING HELD AT THE JUBILEE CONFERENCE CENTRE, OKE ADO, IBADAN FROM 3RD-TO 4TH FEBRUARY, 2020. - Catholic Herald
Catholic Herald
  • Home
  • Cover Story
  • Editorial
  • Archbishopric
  • News
    • Vatican News
  • Homily
  • Kids &Teens
  • Gallery
    • Gallery
No Result
View All Result
Catholic Herald
No Result
View All Result
Home For the Records

A COMMUNIQUE ISSUED BY THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF IBADAN ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE AFTER THEIR MEETING HELD AT THE JUBILEE CONFERENCE CENTRE, OKE ADO, IBADAN FROM 3RD-TO 4TH FEBRUARY, 2020.

by admin
February 9, 2020
in For the Records
0
498
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

We, the Catholic Bishops of

Ibadan Ecclesiastical Prov-
ince, comprising Ibadan

Archdiocese, Ilorin, Ondo,
Ekiti, Oyo and Osogbo Dioceses, have met
at the Jubilee Conference Centre Oke Ado,
Ibadan from 3rd to 4th February, 2020.
After prayerful deliberations on matters
of importance to our Church in Ibadan
Province and Nigeria, we now prayerfully
issue the following Communique:

  1. New Year, New Hope
    The new year 2020 gives all Nigerians
    another opportunity to echo the now
    familiar saying that God is good to his
    people all the time. We acknowledge that
    even when we as human beings fail in our
    duties and commitments God remains
    steadfast and merciful. The life and graces
    we enjoy at this moment are all evidence
    that if we do our best to follow his ways
    and play our part in building his kingdom
    of peace and justice, our hopes for a better
    world can still be fulfilled. His kingdom
    beckons us now to build a better world for
    the good of all.
  2. Worsening Situation of Se-
    curity of Life and Property

Human life seems to have lost value in
Nigeria. At the beginning of last year, we
cried out like all Nigerians did against the
woeful security situation at that time. We

issued a message of hope calling on all Ni-
gerians to work together with the govern-
ment and security agencies to secure the

life and property of all without discrim-
ination. Today, a year later, things have

become much worse. Nigeria is in securi-
ty dire-straits. Only few Nigerians in any

part of the country can sleep with two eyes
closed. We lament that Nigerians are being
slaughtered daily by terrorists, criminals

and so-called herdsmen on the roads, in
their farms and even in their homes. With

the security architecture in Nigeria seem-
ingly on auto-pilot, the country is clearly

drifting and needs decisive action to re-
store professionalism and effectiveness. As

Bishops, we strongly believe in prayer and
in the power of God to save, but we must

challenge all those in position of authori-
ty that they simply must wake up and do

more than pay mere lip service to the issue
of security in our country, Nigeria.

  1. The Amotekun Initiative
    The Church stands for the sanctity of life.
    It is a constitutional fact that the primary
    duty of government is the protection of

lives and property. In this regard, we com-
mend the action of the Governors of the

Southwestern Region who acted across
party and religious lines to set up the
South Western Security Network (SWSN),
tagged: Amotekun. With this initiative,
they have responded to their duty as Chief
Security Officers of their States to secure

lives and property of all in the Southwest-
ern Region of Nigeria. The security of lives

is not exclusive to any organization. So,

we urge the Federal Government to sup-
port and regulate Amotekun and other

such organs in Nigeria as necessary com-
plements to the efforts of the police and

other security agencies. The Amotekun
outfit is a metaphor for the utmost need
for leaders to cater for the welfare of all

those who are placed under their care, ir-
respective of tribe or religion. If well-regu-
lated and groomed, it will surely bring the

much-needed improvement to peace and
public order in the Southwest of Nigeria.

  1. Recent Mindless Murders in
    Nigeria
    A new peak in Nigeria’s sad situation

was the beheading of Rev. Lawan Andimi,

Chairman, Christian Association of Nige-
ria, (CAN), Michika Local Government

Area in Adamawa State and the killing of
a major seminarian, Michael Nnadi. We
commiserate with the Bishop, Catholic
Diocese of Sokoto, Most Rev Matthew

Hassan Kukah and the Christian Asso-
ciation of Nigeria, (CAN) on these sad

occurrences. May their gentle souls and
the souls of all those who have been killed
in similar circumstances, rest in perfect
peace. We condole with and pray for all
bereaved families and we urge the relevant

authorities to wake up to their responsibil-
ities and bring the perpetrators of this and

other such dastardly acts to justice.

  1. Low Standards for Truth and
    Falsehood
    We are sad to note that more and more,

propaganda seems to interfere with pol-
icy and concrete action in Nigeria. The

fiercely defensive reaction of government

officials and spokesmen to even construc-
tive and positive criticisms, often gives the

impression that we cherish only positive
comments about the government of the
day. This is not a healthy sign! Notably,
authentic democracy derives its strength

from the quality and diversity of the criti-
cisms which it accommodates. We cannot

afford to tag every criticism as a negative

attack on the government of the day be-
cause no country can survive under such

paranoia.

  1. Sustaining the formation
    and empowerment of our
    Youths
    Nigerian youths constitute a large part of

the country’s wealth and potential. How-
ever, we can expect to reap dividends from

their talent and future if only we invest in

them today. We therefore enjoin the gov-
ernment at all levels, relevant authorities

and all stakeholders to invest more re-
sources in the education sector where the

youths are formed and empowered for the
future. Without redressing the damage
already done in this sector, much of the
effort being made today to sanitise society
will be a waste. We commend those who
provide employment opportunities for
our teeming population not to relent and
we call on well-meaning people to create
more employment opportunities for the
unemployed among us.
We challenge families and guardians,
religious leaders, teachers, formators and
political leaders to address the issue of
immorality among the youths. Some of
this is provoked by some unscrupulous

entertainers and artistes who are indis-
criminately celebrated by the media. The

upbringing and formation of the youths
must be taken as the responsibility of all
in the society.

  1. Congratulations to Osogbo
    Diocese at 25
    We congratulate Most Rev. Gabriel Leke

Abegunrin, first Bishop of Osogbo Dio-
cese on his Silver Jubilee as Bishop, Bish-
op John Akinkunmi Oyejola, the current

Bishop of the Diocese, the Clergy, Reli-
gious and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Di-
ocese of Osogbo on the Silver Jubilee of the

Diocese’s inauguration. Since its establish-
ment in 1995 Osogbo Diocese has grown

in leaps and bounds, pastorally, structur-
ally and in spiritual and material graces.

May the ongoing celebration which was

planned to last for a year and will con-
clude on 13th May, 2020, bring more de-
velopment and progress in evangelization

and in the mission of the Church within

that Ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

  1. Celebration of the Sunday of
    the Word of God
    We thank God for the inspiration and

leadership of Pope Francis who has estab-
lished the annual celebration, henceforth,

of the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time in
the Liturgical Year as the Sunday of the

Word of God. The purpose of the celebra-
tion, well explained in his apostolic letter:

“Aperuit Illis”, (He opened their minds), is
to help the faithful rediscover devotion to

the study, appropriation and dissemina-
tion of the word of God. It is also a call to

celebrate ecumenical life and unity in the
Church. The occasion was marked with

great solemnity for the first time on Jan-
uary 26, 2020, in the Church all over the

world. We therefore call on the Clergy,
Religious and all Christians to make the
word of God the foundation of their unity
and life at all times.

  1. Conclusion
    As we conclude this Communique,
    we invoke the mercy of God upon our
    Church and our country, Nigeria, that he
    may guide us by his mighty hand and Holy
    Spirit. May he grant divine wisdom to all

our leaders that they may do what pleas-
es him and lead God’s people aright. That

way God’s favour, already granted to this
land flowing with milk and honey, will be
more manifest and God’s people shall be
filled with his good things (Ps 65:4).
Most Rev. Gabriel Abegunrin
President
Most Rev. John Oyejola
Secretary

Share199Tweet125Share50
admin

admin

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

The 12 Articles of the Creed

June 14, 2021

Examination malpractices: Who is to blame?

July 10, 2021

Act right, don’t be part of those destroying the world today!

June 14, 2021

Agenda for in-coming Lagos State Governor

0

Fathers And The Omugwo Train

0

Married Pentecostal Pastor Set To Become Catholic Priest

0

New successor of St. Peter: Meet Pope Leo XIV

May 12, 2025

Priestly dignity: JDPC Director advocates supportive environment

May 12, 2025

Workers’ Day: A stark reality of economic hardship

May 12, 2025
Catholic Herald

© 2024 | Xebrian

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • Mixed Grill
  • Interview Section
  • Spirituality
  • Sports
  • Health
  • Technology
  • Gallery
  • Back Page
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Cover Story
  • Editorial
  • Archbishopric
  • News
    • Vatican News
  • Homily
    • Spirituality
  • Mixed Grill
  • Interview Section
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Health
  • Kids &Teens
  • Gallery
    • Gallery
  • Back Page
  • Contact

© 2024 | Xebrian