The Homily of Most Rev Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo at the Funeral Mass if the victim Attack at St Francis Catholic church Owo, Ondo State, today 17th June, 2022.




I BELIEVE I SHALL SEE THE LORD’S GOODNESS IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING

Your Graces My Lord Bishops, particularly My Lord bishop Jude Arogundade, Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Your Excellencies, particularly the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Akeredolu, Monsignors, Priests Religious, Traditional Rulers especially the Olowo of Owo, Oba Adesanoye, the families and relatives of our departed ones and of other victims of the tragedy that has brought us together, the Christian Association of Nigeria, people of other faiths and confessions, my dear people of God, especially the faithful of St. Francis Catholic Church which is the scene of the crime that has further brought so much hot tears to our eyes and caused us yet more heartbreak over this dear country, Nigeria in these last two weeks, I greet you all.

Eloi Eloi lama Sabachtani

Believe me when I say that this is not a homily I am happy to preach and I know it is not an occasion which any of you ever prayed to witness. We all gather today I believe in deep sorrow and distress for the funeral Mass of over 40 of our departed people who were brutally murdered, mindlessly massacred while at worship in St. Francis Catholic Church Owo on Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 2022. Indeed, if the sun shone on the sunshine state at all on that day, it surely did not penetrate the darkness in the hearts of the murderers who visited St Francis on that Sunday. The event catapulted the Catholic Church in Owo, the Catholic diocese of Ondo and Ondo State of Nigeria to the limelight of world attention, unfortunately for the very wrong reasons. Since then, the entire world has condemned the crime perpetrated against humanity and against God in this State. We thank all for their messages, gestures and visits. The governor of the State particularly has done al in his power since then to bring succour to the affected people and to the Church. Thank you, arakunrin. Ba mise o, pabanuje mi re..
We have seen tragedies in Nigeria and we have seen brutal murders but few can really compare with the brutality and gruesomeness of the event on that Pentecost Sunday. On a visit to the Church with innocent blood still spattered on the floor and walls of the sanctuary I could almost hear the victims as they were attacked right inside the Church, cry out like Jesus Christ did on the cross “Eloi Eloi lama sabachtani: My God, My God why have you forsaken me”? May that desecration of the sanctuary, the desecration of the body of Christ and the desecration of our collective claim as Nigerians to sane humanity shall not go unpunished. “Eloi, Eloi lama Sabachtani”

Thus are we battered but not crushed

And so, we come together here to mourn and pray for our 40 deceased brothers and sisters, some of whom are lying here and for almost 75 others who sustained different degrees of injuries. Among the dead is an aged 85 year-old, Bridget Ozulumba, young people and children Chukwuemeka Emmanuel Njoku who was 2 and Mathilda Ogungbade who was 3. None of these did anything wrong except that they came to worship God at the foot of the cross and altar on that day. There sudden death was inflicted upon them and deep sorrow upon their dear ones left behind. These dear ones died and many others met with trouble while at the foot of the cross. What a pity! The Christian religion teaches us to lay all our troubles and sorrows down at the foot of the cross so we know that they are safe in the arms of Jesus. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

People of God, tragedy and sorrow n matter how great, have the capacity to batter and crush us only if we succumb to them. Yes, we are battered but by faith in Jesus, we refuse to be crushed. Today we choose to give thanks to God that he gave our brethren lying here, life, the faith and the privilege of belonging to him and returning home even in this incomprehensible manner. When peace like a river attendeth my way….May they all reap the reward of eternal salvation. Amen The dead are safe with God

People of God here before us lies Nigeria! Indeed, as the dead lay here today before us, they do not lie there alone. Lying down here with them are the joys and hopes and aspirations of their families and loved ones, of the Church of God, of the various communities from where they come and indeed of this country Nigeria. The circumstances of their death are by all standards of sane humanity, most illogical, irrational and unacceptable. Even the ones who are maimed and wounded themselves wherever they are, represent Nigeria with all her self-inflicted wounds, bruised brutalized and violated. How sad! However, such moments as this are the moments of Christian exaltation like the brutal hour when So, as Christians we hang onto God’s promise which Martha herself eventually said: “I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day”. (Jn 11:24). That promise of Jesus Christ is our hope and faith. “I am the resurrection. Anyone who believes in me, even though that person dies, he shall live…”(Jn 11: 25) so dear family and relatives and friend “Be consoled” may the holy Spirit of God comfort you as only he can. Amen

All to Jesus I surrender

So, my dear people, the summit of all our sentiments is our surrender to Jesus Christ for he is our model. Some may ask “Why are we like this?” The answer is that we are like this because we keep our gaze fixed on Jesus who leads us in our faith and his cross, a faith which has cautioned us that in this wicked world occasions like this could occur (Heb 12:2). We hear him at the stations of the cross. We hear him in his persecution, suffering and murder. We hear him when his limp body was given to his mother, Mary. After each Station of the Cross, we sing…When I survey the wondrous Cross. We simply did not negotiate the details of what our participation in his suffering would be. How much do we understand when we he says to us: “the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is doing a holy service to God” (Jn. 16:2). We had no idea perhaps till now what extreme form that could take.

How many more must die?

But to surrender to faith is not to surrender to bestial brutality. Our Christian faith, strong as it is, is thoroughly tested when we remember that the massacre we have just faced is not an isolated case in our country and that we see little on ground to indicate that it might be the last. It has been a long, bloody list, always growing over the last 30 odd years. Jesus Christ came and died so that we might live. He himself declared: “I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full” (Jn. 10:10). This is no threat to anybody but rather a guarantee of abundant life for all. However, from the victims of the “religious” riots in March 1987 in northern Nigeria, the victims of the bomb blast on Christmas day 2011 in a Catholic Church at Madalla town, near Abuja City, the victims of January 5 and 6, 2012 attacks at Mubi (Adamawa State), to many kidnappings and/or killings of lay faithful, priests, Consecrated men and women, seminarians, some of whose churches and residences were attacked thousands of innocent people, especially Christians have lost their lives. Even as I speak many priests are in the hands of kidnappers. According to SB Morgen Intelligence, a Nigeria-based research firm, almost 900 Nigerians were killed in violent attacks in the first quarter of 2022 alone. We are compelled to ask: Nigeria, our leaders, Are you still our leaders? Are we at war? How many more must die? Leaders must be leaders not mere dealers

Few indeed, are the courageous leaders who are able to raise their voice against the ongoing persecution and injustice going in may sectors in Nigeria and who act up at times like these to stem the surge of violence and bloodshed that threatens to engulf Nigeria. We pay tribute to the few leaders in some states like Borno and Ondo who have showed uncommon courage in denouncing some of the perpetrators of evil in their areas and taken some action. This murder shows that far more must be done. Ritual killings, abductions, murders, lynching, kidnappings, armed robbery still increase the bloody tally of innocent deaths day by day. All this goes on while many of our leaders and people in power tweak their fingers , feign deaf and dumb or worse still continue with their macabre rallies and dance merely grapple for positions and privileges. God is not amused and judgment will come. I call on President Buhari, and our leaders in the Federal Government and State governments to wake up sit up and act up. I ask again: “How many more must die”? “Does life really have any value any more with you”? Are we to believe that insurgents, bandits, Boko Haram, ISWAP and murderous herdsmen are more powerful than the Federal government of Nigeria? Is the glaring weakness and helplessness of all our security agencies real or deliberate?

Leaders Must Hear our Cry

So many have cried out in frustration for a review of the security apparatus of our country. I urge leaders at every level to listen to the cry for help of the people they claim to serve, shun discrimination and hypocrisy and do their duty to secure life and property. Why, even God Almighty listens to us in our distress. Death occurs in any organism when the lower order dominates the higher one. One wonders whether the lower order of lawlessness and crime has not already dominated the higher order of the rule of law and governance and begun to strangulate this beloved country of ours. The present situation must not continue that people may not resort to self-help and kill this country entirely The Moral Principle of Self Defense
In the Catholic Church teaching there exists a moral principle and right to self defense which does not mean aggression and is justly mitigated by public security. Life is God’s most precious gift and by that token it must be defended in the face of unprovoked aggression and imminent danger to life. The authentic Christian is pro-life. Because he chooses and defends life, the Christian knows he/she is called to “love thy neighbor as you love yourself” and so does all in his power to reject violence. Like every citizen, he is called to respect the right to life. In this context, the right to self-defense is remains an important Christian value, an integral part of Catholic teachings which in times like this cannot be jettisoned (Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn.2261-2265).

I see as a corollary of the self-defense principle that we Nigerians must take our country back to the path of righteousness. We must agree with George Orwell who once said: “A people that elect corrupt politicians, impostors, thieves and traitors and keep them in power are not victims but accomplices”. Let us all perform our civic duties with honesty and sincerity. In reality we all need two PVCs to be good citizens namely: the Permanent Voters Card for voting during elections and the Positive Verifiable Character that gives you integrity and trustworthiness qualifying you for good citizenship and heaven. Work hard for both and put both to good use.

Repent and believe the Good News

Finally, a word to the perpetrators of this massacre and other such crimes in Nigeria. The God of life calls on you to repent. The Church of Christ invites you to a change of heart, to cast away your arms, to repent and embrace peace. Why would you be agents of destruction of life in which you yourself share? Why be an instrument of bloodshed in this beautiful country given to all? Why would you abuse and destroy humanity of which you yourselves are part? You may make us cry and mourn but we shall never stop inviting you to come share in the love and joy of God who loves you as he loves everyone. Fill your heart with love and cast out hatred. Come out of the bush and the shadows. Together let us build a country that once more can be filled with laughter, with peace and prosperity. You too can experience the joy of salvation.

My Lord Bishop Arogundade…grieving brothers and sisters, may God console you all…as God lives, our sacrifice shall not be in vain. May Mary Mother of Jesus intercede for you all… Amen Peace be with you