There was tension yesterday at the Ahiara Catholic Diocese in Ahiazu Mbaise Council Area of Imo state as the planned public protest and procession by the laity council over the appointment of Peter Ebele Okpalaeke as the Bishop of the diocese was aborted by the heavy presence of armed policemen and other security agencies who were stationed at all strategic junctions leading to the diocese.

Over 3, 000 faithful of Ahiara Diocese of the Catholic Church converged on the Mater Ecclesiae cathedral, Mbaise in Imo State for a rally to restate their total rejection of the embattled Bishop Peter Ebele Okpaleke.

Okpaleke was anointed and consecrated bishop of the diocese by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 but both the Laity Council and the priests in the diocese rejected his appointed on the grounds that he is not an indigene of the area, among other reasons.

The angry faithful of the diocese said they were only fighting alleged imposition of a bishop on the diocese and not the Catholic Pontiff.


The diocesan youths, who put on black attire, chanted solidarity songs to reaffirm their support for the position taken by the Ahiara Diocese clerics and the laity council’s to rejection of Okpaleke.

Other Catholic men and women who dressed in different church uniforms, also participated in the rally, which started with a rosary procession round the cathedral.

This was just as the Imo state Governor, Rochas Okorocha has appealed for calm, urging the priests and laity of the diocese to sheathe their swords.

Source; https://www.nationalhelm.co/2017/07/ahiara-catholic-diocese-crisis-in-imo-state-procession.html

see more >>>> https://www.nationalhelm.co/2017/07/ahiara-catholic-diocese-crisis-in-imo-state-procession.html

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Okpaleke was anointed and consecrated bishop of the diocese by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 but both the Laity Council and the priests in the diocese rejected his appointed on the grounds that he is not an indigene of the area, among other reasons.

hmm!

What is now the difference between the church and community gathering?

Very backward people

Where is da LOVE

See them. Just because an ipob man is not from IMO state, he was rejected. This is what we re going to be expecting when they eventually have Biafra as a country. No unity among them in anyway. The Bishop of rivers state is an Akwa ibom man. Yet u didn't hear any noise from the rivers people.

Pls give them this pill

After all this nonsense, they think heaven is viable for them?


Goats.

Big goats.

What a shame!

These are results of such careless utterances as of the likes of Nnamdi Kanu.

This is so ungodly!

Na by force to be Catholic, if you can't obey your pope go join/form your own church

Ultimately, religion/church does not give you a first class ticket to heaven but the salvation of your soul.

This is what you get when serving God has be turned into money making machine (MMM)

Ahiara Diocese is an embarrassment to the Catholic Church in Nigeria...

I wonder why they are running to Okorocha.. Will Okorocha negotiate with the pope or what?

Bishop Okpaleke will assume the bishopric of Ahiara Diocese. And None of these priests will ever be a Bishop in the Long run.

Penny wise, Pound foolish

These guys and their egbejoda Cloth. . Everybody with their own wahala.

But the bishop is also an Igbo man.

I thought they are jews

So Ahiara Catholics are saying that they don't want to obey their Pope?

OK..now...make they form their own church...make them appoint their tribesmen as Bishop and Popes.

It is really sad that Nigerian Christianity as a whole is so riven by tribalism and by arguments over who should be the leader of a church.

See what happened in Assemblies of God, CAC and so on.

IPOB how market?

The laity may not understand the weight of what they are doing, but I expect the priests to understand what this means .

Catholic authority is not a democracy where you can choose. Ibadan Archbishop is from osun state. Ekiti Bishop is from ondo state.

This is clearly disobedience and insubordination

Ff

Even as we worship the ONE and ONLY GOD? why discriminating? I feel terrified with this ugly development.

This is so shameful.
This is the same way these shameless people almost destroyed Assemblies of God Church.
They shout marginalisation and cause crises almost everywhere. The House of God isn't left out.
Isn't it absurd that a people that cannot run a political party, cannot run a church want to run a country?

Not surprised. After all there are many Christianities.

Stupidity at the highest level. Mbaise will never change

Is it not obvious that even if
Jesus Christ come to head the church they will reject him for not being an indigene? An ordained priest challenging the authority of the Pope? Is he working for or against the Church? Once Pope allows this, very soon no Reverend Father will be a Parish priest where he's not an indigene. Church is now business and politics including my dear Catholic! The only people that earn my respect are the monks and nuns!

I saw this and wept.

I was actually expecting a cogent reason buh was shocked to see they have none.

Everybody that participated in that protest is not a true Christian cos if you can accept a man from another village as your bishop how can you accept someone from other region.

Yet others will accept you and give you room to blossom.

Thank God the man is not an Hausa man, they would have accused the pope of trying to northernize the east.

And someone will tell me that atheist are wrong

sense fall on whoever that ll tell me to go church.

Nonsense

GavelSlam:
IPOB how market?

Mind you, this isn't a problem limited to the South East.

There was once an issue in one church in another denominaiton which resulted in divisions along tribal lines...and FYI....all the tribes were Middle Belt.

braimeddy:
See them. Just because an ipob man is not from IMO state, he was rejected. This is what we re going to be expecting when they eventually have Biafra as a country. No unity among them in anyway. The Bishop of rivers state is a northern man. Yet u didn't hear any noise from the rivers people.

You are eager to point out how Biafra would be run, yet u say nothing bout how Nigeria is being run? Face d issue jare.



Still gat VOGUE frames..
Check my signature.

They say I am noisy... I claim it..
I claim it because I know what I am fighting for, and what I am fighting against.
Igbos are very very very Sentimental people, they cannot be reasoned with.

The Catholic Bishop in Uyo Bishop John Ayah is from Cross River, and the Arch Bishop in Calabar is from Aks. It's a non Issue here.

IF MY FOLKS FROM THE EAST CANNOT ACCOMMODATE THEIR BLOOD BROTHER, HOW THEN WILL THEY ACCEPT AND ACCOMODATE US, IN THE SOUTH, WHO SHARE NOTHING WITH THEM BUT BOUNDARIES..
??!!

Folks will feel, that I hate Igbos from my posts, God Knows I deeply love and respect them, but then, I know that In Oron here that has the highest concentration of Igbo, they keep to themselves, they treat others as Osu's and get close only when they need things. You can be best friend with them, but when they have business, they take it to their Igbo broda.

Biafra will be perfect with Just the Igbos in it, it will be a family.. But throw the minorities in the south into the mix, and then you have a recipe for disaster.

I will always use every opportunity on this forum to tell the few Creek citizens who have been brainwashed already, to get their sense back, and think into the future... while letting other Nigerians to never give us the same treatment given the Igbos, We are very very very Different...

IF THEY CAN FIGHT GOD'S REPRESENTATIVE ON EARTH (POPE) BECAUSE A BISHOP IS NOT FROM THEIR TRIBE... who are you as a total stranger to believe they will treat or equate you to the level of being as Human as they Are ??
Citizen of the creeks, the fight against burdening our posterity with a cross they cannot shoulder is one, that we must fight to the death.