ABUJA – CATHOLIC Church, weekend, described
as malicious and misleading, a media report that
the Church chided the President of Christian
Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor
over the 9.3million arms deal in South Africa.
Some Nigerian Newspapers had on Thursday 25th
September 2014, and suggesting that Most Rev.
Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, the President of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN)
accused Pastor Ayo Ortistejafor of denting the
image of the Christian Association of Nigeria over
the case of the jet that was found with $9.3milion
allegedly owned by the CAN President.Reacting to this in a statement in Abuja, the
Director (Social Communications Directorate),
Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria Rev. Fr. Chris
Anyanwu said “the report is not only false and
malicious but a calculated attempt to further sow
the seed of disharmony between Catholics and
the leadership of CAN.
“While we disassociate ourselves from the
newspaper reports, it is important to put the
records in the right perspective.
The statement explained that Most Rev. Ignatius
Kaigama granted an interview with the Hausa
BBC Service in Kaduna in which he condemned
money laundering.
It added that Kaigama never, in the said
interview, cast any aspersion on the person of
Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the President of the
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), but called
for dispassionate investigation into the matter.
According to Anyanwu, “Reporters who monitored
the said interview in Hausa BBC Service totally
misrepresented the Archbishop by misquoting
him.
” Knowing the person of Archbishop Kaigama as a
man who is committed to ecumenism and inter-
religious dialogue, there is no way he can make
such an inflammatory statement against the
leadership of CAN which is capable of causing
dissections among the CAN family.
“It was amazing to read such sensational
headlines as ‘Ayo Oritsejafor is disgracing CAN’ –
Catholic Bishops of Nigeria’, ‘Oritsejafor has
dragged Christianity to the mud – Bishop
Kaigama’, ‘Bishop blasts Oritsejafor for playing
politics with CAN’.
The statement explained that “This is
unfortunate, inciteful, unpatriotic and
uncharitable. It looks like some people have
problems with the person of Pastor Oritsejafor and
wanted as the saying goes ‘to borrow the mouth
of Archbishop Kaigama to chop their onions’.
“It appears that some people are hell-bent on
setting the Catholic Church against the rest of
CAN. Some want to use unfortunate situations to
promote their fortunes.
“Yes the Catholic Bishops did in the past make
their observations about how CAN could be run
better not with the intention to discredit the body
but so that things could be corrected fraternally,
but there were screaming headlines which
tended to put the Catholic Church in negative
light. This is happening again.
“We are indeed embarrassed at the monumental
scale of misrepresentations in the said newspaper
reports. What we expect from Journalists is
genuine reports based on truth and facts, which
ought to promote public trust and confidence.
“A hall mark of responsible journalism is that
reporters ought to cross-check their facts before
publishing them whereas reports based on
falsehood, rumours and preconceived ideas such
as this, are not only malicious but a calculated
attempt to strain the good relationship between
the Catholic Church and the leadership of CAN.
“There is a poison of deliberate misinformation in
the air, more deadly than the Ebola virus disease.
This may be a symptom of how forthcoming
political events may be handled in the media.
Some persons want to at all cost see the North
and the South, Christians and Muslims fight.
“In God’s name it shall not come to be. Our
prayer is that our nation shall remain one and
indivisible. No matter how hard our detractors
may try, they will not succeed.
“As leaders of the Catholic Church we shall
continue to be objective in our assessment of the
situation in the country and endeavour to edify
by our comments and actions and not to destroy.
This is because we believe that we are one people
and one nation. God bless our beloved country
Nigeria.”
Source:www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/9-3m-arms-deal-catholic-bishops-exonerate-oritsejafor/

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