Welcome bishop or incur suspension, Pope tells priests of Nigerian diocese [CC]

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Pope Francis has issued an ultimatum to the priests of the Diocese of Ahiara, Nigeria, demanding that they write a letter accepting their bishop or face suspension.

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So much for people believing Pope Francis is “soft”.
Seriously, what they did was horrible. A coffin with the new Bishop’s name on it? :eek:
I pray it settles down VERY soon.
 
I have spoken with a priest who is a personal friend of the Bishop in question. It has nothing to do with tribal differences, as all involved are Ibo. It has everything to do with a handful of rebellious priests who have been without a bishop for too long and have been having their own way
 
…and some folks around here complain about a little clapping…sheeeeeeesh!

give the bishop a chance!
 
Good for the Holy Father! When you thought you heard it all. A renegade Diocese, or partially so. The Pope is making a powerful and appropriate response.
 
esieffe said:
Good for the Holy Father! When you thought you heard it all. A renegade Diocese, or partially so. The Pope is making a powerful and appropriate response.
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Yes, he is nipping it in the bud as the saying goes.
 
MusherMaggie said:
I have spoken with a priest who is a personal friend of the Bishop in question. It has nothing to do with tribal differences, as all involved are Ibo. It has everything to do with a handful of rebellious priests who have been without a bishop for too long and have been having their own way
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there is a little bit of tribalism in it…

it is true that everyone involved here is of the IBO tribe…but the IBOs are best described as a nation not a tribe because amongst them their exist various subgroups with their own cultures and dialect which are usually unintelligible to other ibos of a different dialect. the ecclesiastical division of dioceses and provinces usually respect these differences. culturally alike dioceses are grouped together. The diocese in question is call ahiara diocese and is populated by the IBO subgroup called mbaise, it is part of the Owerri ecclesiastical province.

A bishop from the mbaise extraction would have been ideal as the diocese has a lot if rural areas and the language used both in communication and the liturgy in that area is the mbaise dialect of the IBO language which can be unintelligible to many non mbaise ibos. A bishop from the owerri ecclesiastical province would or should have been 2nd choice as a priest the neighboring diocese would have a much better chance of settling down and understanding the language. instead they got a Bishop from the Onitcha Ecclesiastical province for them that was the worst choice possible because they think it smelled of politics.

These subgroups aren’t immune to petty rivalries and Onitsha ecclesiastical province is home to cardinal arize coincidentally his province has produced a great number of bishops and have produced a few bishops for their neighboring provinces leading to accusations that the dear cardinal has influence in the selection of bishops which favour his province and scapegoats his neighbors by denying them indigenous bishops.

These two factors led to the rejection of the bishop some claimed he couldnt settle in ahiara diocese and asked for an indigenous bishop another group claimed it’s all politics and asked for anybody except a bishop of Onitcha extraction.
 
7_Sorrows said:
Yes, he is nipping it in the bud as the saying goes.
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This has been going on for about 5yrs now. It is long overdue. The bishop was denied access to the cathedral by priest and faithful alike… Not to talk of the shameful protest.
 
MusherMaggie said:
I have spoken with a priest who is a personal friend of the Bishop in question. It has nothing to do with tribal differences, as all involved are Ibo. It has everything to do with a **handful **of rebellious priests who have been without a bishop for too long and have been having their own way
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Handful? The article mentions 400 priests…?
 
Rau said:
Handful? The article mentions 400 priests…?
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It is not a handful, the number of priests from that subgroup are over 400 and the laity seem to support them. That is close to half a million Catholic in that diocese. It has a heavy Catholic presence.

It certainly isn’t a handful of priests.
 
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