An article written by Charles Oputa, aka Charly Boy,
aka Areafada...:-). Enjoy...
The first 20yrs of my life, I seriously had this
dream of being a priest. I was overfed with an
overdose of religion which has always been a
very serious business in my family. You dare not
be late for morning mass or else you get the
whipping of your life, yes my father was that
strict, no nonsense when it came to going to
church or anything spiritual. That’s where I’m
coming from, we were a family that prayed
together and were very staunch Catholics for
that matter.
When I turned 16 I became an altar boy, at that
time that was the coolest thing to be,
considering years of going to bible classes and
regular confessions. Eight months into the
spiritual things as an altar boy, I made a big
goof; I drank the priests wine and ate a bunch of
Holy Communion enough to fill me up. I figured I
could be more spiritual by that action, but I got
expelled as an altar boy, needless to say how
scandalized and angry my father was then,
OMG.
By the time I turned 20, I’ve had enough religion to
last me two life times. By 1974, I left to further my
studies in the USA, I was overjoyed because for the
first time, I was going to be on my own. I was really
carried away with my new found independence. Being
an adventurous young man I started dabbling into not
only the occult but with metaphysics, Buddhism,
astrology, magic and all that Jazz. However, I still
believe I was fundamentally a Catholic by birth, but
the catholic fate has suddenly become boring and old
fashion for me.
When I read that controversial book, “In God’s
Name”, all the negativity I started to feel about the
Catholic Church became magnified in my mind. What
about the sex scandals about priests and little boys.
Hummmmmmm! I am aware that the Catholic Church
is not a perfect body, and doesn't claim to be one. Of
course it is plagued with the same corruption,
scandals and sin as any other organization. Last night
as I was watching CNN, the Pope’s visit to Brasil was
being beamed to the world and all of a sudden, there
it was, "who am I to judge as long as they walk in the
light of Christ" Pope Francis on Gays. As reflexes
would have it, I jumped out of my seat and hugged my
TV, funny ha ha. Not because homosexuality has been
part of my advocacy through the years but because I
feel that every adult has a right to make their bed and
lie on it as they choose, and who the hell are we to
judge. I have always said that it is really not our place
to judge those who do not fit our view of normal. So
once again the church is attempting to evolve in order
to keep up with the rest of civilization. That is how a
religion survives. Its belief has to be flexible enough to
stay somewhat relevant to current or the public will
abandon it.
Ever since the Popes election, my man has taken
actions that seem to be very ‘unpopelike’. He even
used public transport as a cardinal, he lives in a
smaller quarter, he asked for blessing before blessing
the crowd which gathered in St Peters square on the
day of his election. But my people, what is stranger
than Pope France’s action have been evangelicals’
reactions all over the world. Never before has a Pope
become so widely accepted by Protestants and
evangelicals. It's a proud day for Catholics and all
mankind. Finally a Pope who doesn't see himself as
equal to God, unlike our men of god down here. It is
really amazing. Every Pope in the Catholic Church’s
past has had a mastery over catholic rhetoric,
because theoretically they always say the right things.
But Pope Francis has decided to lead with his actions.
Before delivering his message at the Holy Thursday
Mass, Pope Francis spent time on his Knees washing
the feet of young women incarcerated at a nearby
prison. This is the first time a Pope has ever washed
the feet of women, not to mention that one of the
women was a Muslim, which is another break in papal
tradition. In the holy book, the bible calls us to be the
light to the world if Christ is to be present to the world.
This is why Pope Francis’ way should be imitated for
imitating him we make Christ visible and that is what
influences others to walk in the way of Christ. So
much to be said for our so called "men of god" in this
neck of the woods who strut around as if they are
God’s gift to mankind, most of them bunch of con
men and fraud stars who are continually ripping off
unsuspecting Nigerians, living in fancy houses,
building universities their congregation can't even
afford for their children and buying private jets
because their God is not a poor God, as Nija's hand
over their pay checks in return for a miracle because
they have bought into the Hocus-pocus that is
Pentecostalism. Just look at our churches today, tell
me those priest, pastors or our so called men of god,
who makes Christ visible. Jesus needs us to make him
Visible and present in this troubled world. Blessed
mother Teresa is a perfect example of showing us the
love and mercy of Christ in the millions she cared for.
The gospel calls us to imitate Christ and it is in the
way we live that the gospel of Jesus gets proclaimed,
that is how we speak Christ to a world that does not
know him.
I am very scared for this Pope, he is a little too Christ
like for his own good. There are still some die hard
winches, vampires in the Vatican. I fear assassination,
probably by the very people who call themselves
"devout". If any Pope can show us what Jesus was
saying, I think this one is the one. At least I hope so. I
am impressed with this Pope not for his Catholicism
but for his Christianity. As I lay in the comfort of my
room watching the Pope’s visit to Brazil, it was clear to
me that Pope Francis will go down in history as the
greatest Pope ever, I just pray that he lives out his
Pope ship for many years to come as to spread his
light and make our lord Jesus more visible in the
world. More than 3million people where at
Copacabana beach for the re-enactment of the
Stations of the Cross and farewell mass. This world
Youths Day smashed previous attendance records
and goes down in the record books as one of the best
attended papal events ever. In short, this Pope is a
rock star. Here is a Pope who speaks the language of
the people; In fact in Rio he kicked his penchant for
simplicity, humility and accessibility into high gear.
The security operatives were all overwhelmed by
zealous pilgrims, he insisted on leaving the windows
of his car down so he could extend his arm to those
seeking his blessings. Countless babies kissed, photo
ups with adoring faithfuls only added to the pontiff
reputation for being a man of the people, and all of
this took place in the roughest side of town, a crime
ridden zone in Rio.
Pope Francis is now standing up to the Mafia. First the
Vatican honoured Rev Giuseppe Puglisi, killed 20yrs
ago by mobsters for preaching against the Mafia, as a
martyr. Pope Francis himself demanded that Mafia
members abandon their "evil ways" especially those
who exploit their fellow humans via human trafficking,
drug dealing and prostitution. "They cannot make our
brothers slaves; let us pray that these Mafiosi convert
to God". Hummmmm na wa, if the Mafia decides to
take Pope Francis out in retaliation for his words
against them, I pray that there's a Pope Francis army
out there ready to throw down. If the Pope manages
to mobilize all of Italian society against the Mafia, his
days maybe numbered, but he will be unable to do so,
and as a result I pray that the Mafia won’t remember
him. They say the only thing needed for Evil to exist is
for good men to do nothing. I am glad that he is doing
something. He looks and sounds to me like he has a
beautiful spiritual light burning inside of him and is
preaching goodwill for all and trying to turn around the
corrupt so they too can walk in the sunlight of the
spirit. I really admire him for standing up to the Mafias.
I recognize the Popes effort in trying to bring a better
image and name to Christianity. Anyway you flip it,
the Holy Father is full of surprises, born of true and
faithful humility, at another occasion, he declared that
all people, not just Catholics, are redeemed through
Jesus, even atheists. "Those people must still do
good. Infact, it is in doing good that they are led to the
one who is the source of all that is good" In essence
he simply restated the hope of the church that all
come to know God, through his son Jesus Christ. Pope
Francis is saying more than ever before, that Christ
offered himself as a sacrifice for everyone. That has
always been a Christian belief, but rarely do you hear
it said by Catholics so forcefully, and with such
evident joy. And in this era of religious controversies, it
is a timely reminder that God cannot be confined to
our narrow categories. Thumbs up for my man Pope
Francis, nothing do you.

Accolades for the Pope for not condemning all manner of evil men practise in this generation.


But where does your conscience leave you Areafada!