Nigerian Catholic Bishop Urges Parents to Embrace Sacrifice, Foster “stability of family”

It is difficult for religious people who find it hard to obey their vows to be respected, Bishop Onah said, adding that such vices point to the kind of family they came from.

“There are some sisters, they do not obey any rules. They have three vows and are not keeping any and they want to be respected as religious,” the Nigerian Bishop said.

He explained, “Even the church operates in a society where there are rules to be followed… Many of us want to get all the benefits of society without keeping any of the rules.”

Bishop Onah said that it does not make sense to blame the leadership when the citizens themselves cannot keep the law of the land, including traffic rules that he said are simple to follow.

The Catholic Bishop who has been at the helm of Nigeria’s Nsukka Diocese since his Episcopal Ordination in July 2013 said that bringing up children to bear witness to the fact that Jesus is alive entails sacrifice.

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“It is self-giving love that makes parents be able to bring up their children properly,” he said, and added, “It is through our fidelity to the message of Christ that we can show others that he is alive and then draw them to accept that message.”

Bishop Onah said that prayer is necessary especially when one is growing up and when they are bound to face temptations. He added that without prayer, one may be compelled to use unjust means to acquire a living.

He said, “Respect the education and the formation you receive so that at least your parents will live a happy old life when the time comes.”

The Nigerian Bishop further said that what people in the West African country see as “miracles” lack the transformative action to change families.

He said that there are “multiple miracle centers” in the country where preachers have turned into gods that are now being worshiped by unsuspecting people.

The Catholic Bishop said that Priests and other men of God who seek glory through miracle centers contribute to the diversional attention that denies God the glory that He deserves.

“We know that in our days in Nigeria, there is a terrible multiplication of miracle centers. In fact, it seems that many churches have just become miracle shopping centers. Christians move from one of such centers to another to collect as many miracles as possible,” Bishop Onah said.

He added, “These miracles have even gone beyond the churches to schools. There are miracle centers in schools where nobody fails exams and our parents are also taking their children to such miracle centers.”

Bishop Onah congratulated Mr. and Mrs. Adani for their 50th wedding anniversary and said that they are the best example of a couple to be emulated.

The Nigerian Catholic Bishop read the congratulatory message of the Holy father, Pope Francis, to the couple on their anniversary before handing the note to Fr. Adani so that he can present it to his parents.

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The message read, “The Holy father, Pope Francis cordially imparts the requested apostolic blessing to Alexander Adani and Martina Adani on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary, invoking through the intercession of virgin Mary in abundance of the divine graces celebrated at St. Thomas Parish on April 21.”

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.