“Let us match their words with their past actions and make informed decisions with our voter’s card that will lead to 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,” he said at the event which commenced Tuesday, November 8.
Catholic Church leaders in Nigeria including John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Peter Cardinal Okpaleke and the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji are ta taking part in the Pastoral Congresses that has been organized under the same theme as the Synod on Synodality, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission”.
In his address, Archbishop Akubeze said that the Church in Nigeria has responded to the Holy Father’s call and “has been engaged in listening to each other without censoring the opinion of anyone because no one has the monopoly of the Holy Spirit.”
The 66-year-old Archbishop who has been at the helm of the Benin City Archdiocese since April 2011 also spoke about the need to have “a Eucharistic Church” that embraces communion, participation, and mission.
“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,” said the Archbishop who has been serving as the apostolic Administrator of Warri Diocese since April this year.
He said that a Eucharistic Church will not only be an agent of social transformation, but will also inspire economic transformation.
He said, “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.”
“We pray that our mother Mary will be with us to teach us how to do whatever Christ tells us to do through this Congress in Benin,” Archbishop Akubeze said during his November 9 address.
Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.
