₦airaland Forum

Awol1:
An Open Response to Reno Omokri on His Attack On the Catholic Church

Dear Reno Omokri,

Your post of December 18 2019 titled "Some Facts About The First State Sponsored Church", was written under the guise of helping some of your Catholic fans with analysis of the Catholic Church. Because you called lies fact, I have decided to point out your lies and show you what facts really look like.

To adequately do this, I will respond to every paragraph of that post.

First Paragraph From Reno Omokri:

"Some of my Catholic followers have asked me to do an analysis of their church. I find their use of the word ‘our church’ almost ironical because they do not know my history. Not only was I once a Catholic, my mother, and my grandfather were both Catholics. As a matter of fact, the first place Catholicism came to in Nigeria is a place called Ode-Itsekiri, which all true born Itsekiri know as Big Warri. Augustinian Monks set up the first Catholic mission in Nigeria there in 1555. My grandfather was an Olu of Warri. I can trace my bloodline and Catholic origin up to Olu Atuwatse I (AKA Dom Domingos), who in 1648 became the first university graduate in West Africa, as well as the first Christian to be crowned Olu of Warri."

Response:

It is very beautiful that some of your Catholic followers could in sincerity ask you to do an analysis of "their Church." I guess they trusted you so much as one who is knowledgeable in giving a sincere analysis, even though they do not know that the words "sincere analysis" are actually not compatible with you when it comes to the Catholic Church.

You know that it is funny for children to ask a stranger whom they meet on the street to tell them the story of how their mother gave birth to them instead of asking their mother or a relative directly, so you cunningly inserted yourself into the picture as a Catholic with Catholic origin so that your so called analysis will be seen as true. Nice one! This is why you started tracing the history you read up, finding a way to put your father and grandfather and great-grandfather into it. But you forgot something.

The history of how Catholicism first came to Nigeria has nothing to do with your mother and grandfather becoming Catholics. This is because, the missionary activities of the Portuguese in Itsekiri land when they first came as far back as 1555 was highly unsuccessful. It was until 1914 and specifically 1916 that Catholicism took root in Warri through the effort of an Italian and a French priest. We are talking of almost 360 years difference here from 1555 to 1914.

The Olu Atuwatse 1 also known as Dom Domingo whom you mentioned, was actually sent to Portugal by the Portuguese missionary to train as a priest, but he did not meet up with the requirements of being a priest because he got married to a Portuguese woman. He studied at the Portuguese Premiere University of Coimbra from 1600 – 1611. Thus, he became the first African graduate. At his return, he became the seventh Olu Of Warri who reigned from about 1625-1643 AD.

The Catholicism your grandfather and mother got converted into was what was planted around 1914, that was 359 years after the Portuguese missionaries first came to Ode-tsekiri.

So, bringing the story of the first missionary in a bid to do an analysis to your Catholic followers on "their Church" does not say anything other than to make them feel you are credible, when you are not. Also to prove that you are knowledgeable in history, whereas you only succeeded in copying from the book written by Samuel U. Erivwo, Ph.D. on the "History of Christianity In Nigeria: THE URHOBO, THE ISOKO, AND THE ITSEKIRI." A book published in 1979. That is not scholarship my dear pastor Reno Omokri.

Awol1:
An Open Response to Reno Omokri on His Attack On the Catholic Church

First Paragraph From Reno Omokri:
"Some of my Catholic followers have asked me to do an analysis of their church. I find their use of the word ‘our church’ almost ironical because they do not know my history. Not only was I once a Catholic, my mother, and my grandfather were both Catholics. As a matter of fact, the first place Catholicism came to in Nigeria is a place called Ode-Itsekiri, which all true born Itsekiri know as Big Warri. Augustinian Monks set up the first Catholic mission in Nigeria there in 1555. My grandfather was an Olu of Warri. I can trace my bloodline and Catholic origin up to Olu Atuwatse I (AKA Dom Domingos), who in 1648 became the first university graduate in West Africa, as well as the first Christian to be crowned Olu of Warri."

Response:
It is very beautiful that some of your Catholic followers could in sincerity ask you to do an analysis of "their Church." I guess they trusted you so much as one who is knowledgeable in giving a sincere analysis, even though they do not know that the words "sincere analysis" are actually not compatible with you when it comes to the Catholic Church.

You know that it is funny for children to ask a stranger whom they meet on the street to tell them the story of how their mother gave birth to them instead of asking their mother or a relative directly, so you cunningly inserted yourself into the picture as a Catholic with Catholic origin so that your so called analysis will be seen as true. Nice one! This is why you started tracing the history you read up, finding a way to put your father and grandfather and great-grandfather into it. But you forgot something.
The history of how Catholicism first came to Nigeria has nothing to do with your mother and grandfather becoming Catholics. This is because, the missionary activities of the Portuguese in Itsekiri land when they first came as far back as 1555 was highly unsuccessful. It was until 1914 and specifically 1916 that Catholicism took root in Warri through the effort of an Italian and a French priest. We are talking of almost 360 years difference here from 1555 to 1914.

The Olu Atuwatse 1 also known as Dom Domingo whom you mentioned, was actually sent to Portugal by the Portuguese missionary to train as a priest, but he did not meet up with the requirements of being a priest because he got married to a Portuguese woman. He studied at the Portuguese Premiere University of Coimbra from 1600 – 1611. Thus, he became the first African graduate. At his return, he became the seventh Olu Of Warri who reigned from about 1625-1643 AD.

The Catholicism your grandfather and mother got converted into was what was planted around 1914, that was 359 years after the Portuguese missionaries first came to Ode-tsekiri.

So, bringing the story of the first missionary in a bid to do an analysis to your Catholic followers on "their Church" does not say anything other than to make them feel you are credible, when you are not. Also to prove that you are knowledgeable in history, whereas you only succeeded in copying from the book written by Samuel U. Erivwo, Ph.D. on the "History of Christianity In Nigeria: THE URHOBO, THE ISOKO, AND THE ITSEKIRI." A book published in 1979.
That is not scholarship my dear pastor Reno Omokri.

harmonyAris:
This Rev Fr is part of our problem I'm Nigeria. Reno stated some thought provoking facts about catholism but instead of you to state some counter facts you resort to attacking Reno personally. How about you tell is why catholic do things obviously against what the bible stated, like the"father issue", the "veneration of mary" and so on

MuttleyLaff:
ikorodureporta, fyi, Reno Omokirikiri is a big fat shameless liar, it was the church father Saint Ignatius of Antioch in his Letter to the Smyrnaeans, who first used the phrase "ekklesia katholicos" which when translated to English turns into "Catholic Church".

As could be seen from my above mentions from two other different threads, it is Saint Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of Apostle, who coined the phrase "ekklesia katholicos" and to mean the called out ones universally, in distinct to the local, town or city assemblies called out ones.

As a matter of fact, the first use of the word "Catholic" was by this man, Saint Ignatius of Antioch, in his Letter to the Smyrnaeans

So contrary to what Reno Omokirikiri is saying, that the word Catholic means "all embracing" and with false humility pleading to please go check the dictionary for the meaning of the word "Catholic", in case he lied, well Reno lied, and its a barefaced lie because the word "katholicos or katholikos" first is Greek in origin, or if "catholicus" then Latin in origin, and does not mean anything and/or does not anywhere close mean "all embracing." Saint Ignatius of Antioch coined the phrase used to mean the church "on the whole", to mean the church "according to the whole" or the church "in general".

It will interest anyone wanting to know, that the word katholicos or katholikos" is a combination of the Greek words "kata" meaning "about" and "holos" meaning "whole", so in effect, the originator of the phrase Saint Ignatius of Antioch, is saying he is writing about the church in the whole, when he used the phrase in his "The Epistle of St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans"

Reno Omokirikiri, is not really on about Catholicism, he cares less about Catholicism, what Reno Omokirikiri was doing and going at great lengths while at it, is sneakingly trying to put it out there in the public domain space, that he has blue blood flowing in his veins, that as he has the Olu of Warri royalty blood flowing in him, then he is to be looked at, as a person of noble birth, lol.

It is very easy to read Reno like a book, this all thanks to his past unsavoury antecedents, lol. I am sure this latest one is not going to be the last of them, lol.

MuttleyLaff:
As I previously had typed, it was Saint Ignatius of Antioch, in his Letter to the Smyrnaeans (i.e. the ''Epistle of St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans'') who first coined the phrase "ekklesia katholicos," used to mean, the church "on the whole", to mean the church "according to the whole" or the church "in general". It would have been lazy and irresponsible of me to leave you and my readership mystified by not providing a little backdrop of whats behind the word "ekklesia katholicos,"

The fact of being untrue, incorrect and/or insincere, the untruthfulness in how Reno said what is the meaning of word, stood out like a big fat sore thumb. He even had the cheek to tell people to go check the dictionary for the meaning. Is it from the English dictionary, that Saint Ignatius of Antioch coined the "ekklesia katholicos," phrase from ni, hmm?

The meaning of the word "katholicos," according to what Reno said it was, is an indisputable big fat lie. Catholic, better still "katholicos," according to Reno's definition, does not as he puts it, mean "all embracing" period.

He who lives in a glass house should not throw stones. I am not going to trade words with you listing errors, the tribulations, the scamming, staged healing miracles, the misogyny and/or mistrust of women, the sense of entitlement culture, obligatory or imposed ecclesiastical monitised tithing, prejudice(s) and bigotry etcetera in the penterascal circles, which Reno himself, a self-styled pastor, is prominent in, lol

Reno has enough on his penterascal plate to look into and so should face straight front, mind his own penterascal affairs and just already leave the Catholics alone in peace, lol,

We have got the gist Reno, that blue blood runs in your veins, lol, thank you for the unneccesary and/or unsolicited information, lol. Everyone that is anyone, knows Reno Omokirikiri. If you know Reno, you know Reno. Who no know Reno, no go know Reno. God bless auntie Toyin Ojora-Saraki, lol.