The Church in Nigeria at the various local levels in response to the call of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has been said to be engaged in listening to each other without censoring the opinion of anyone because no one has the monopoly of the Holy Spirit. This was the position of Most Rev. Augustine Obiora Akubeze while delivering the welcome address at the opening Mass of the 3rd National Pastoral Congress which has as its theme: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, participation, and mission, on November 9, 2022 at St. Paul Catholic Church, Benin City, Edo State. Hoping that one of the fruits of the congress will be the active participation of Catholic faithful in civil politics, Archbishop Akubeze prayed for a Nigerian Government at all levels, that will listen to the cries of her citizens, the pains and plights of the people, and come to the help of the many victims of terrorism, flood, and poverty. According to him, “Come next year, 2023, we will be electing our leaders.
Let us listen to them when they come to make their electoral promises, and let us match their words with their past actions and make informed decisions with our Voter’s Card that will lead to the electing of a leader who considers every Nigerian as his brother and sister; a leader who has the capacity and will power to take us out of poverty and lead us to prosperity.” Welcoming the delegates to the congress where he said they have come to listen to each other, the Archbishop disclosed that they (delegates) will be guided by the national synthesis of the collective reflections of the various dioceses. He said: “In the next few days, we will be charting new path for the growth of the Church in Nigeria through the product of this Pastoral Congress. It is with joyful heart that I once again welcome you all to this Eucharistic celebration where our differences melt away because we all share in the One Bread, the true body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ.
“We should pray and work for a Church that reflects the Eucharist we celebrate, that is; becoming a Eucharistic Church. It is only a Eucharistic Church that knows what communion means, it is only a Eucharistic Church that knows what participation means, it is only a Eucharistic Church that can fully embrace the mission of Christ. A Eucharistic Church in Nigeria will be an agent of social and economic transformation. Therefore, let us immerse ourselves in this Eucharistic celebration so that we can be effective participants in a Pastoral Congress that is set to help us journey together in our common search for new ways of evangelization.”
