Bishop Eluke charges fellow Bishops to make honest effort to demonstrate the values, qualities of Christ in their lives

By  JP Usanga

The Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Port Harcourt,  Most Rev. Patrick Eluke, has charged his fellow Catholic Bishops to make honest effort to demonstrate in their lives, the values and qualities that Christ represents, which include: being loving, merciful, compassionate, accountable, just and preachers of the truth.

Bishop Eluke who gave this admonition in his homily at the Holy Mass on Tuesday, 12 September, 2023, in the ongoing second 2023 plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) in Abuja, reminding the Bishops that the task of preserving the faith has been handed onto them, and of the need to make honest effort to preserve the faith, and hand it onto the future generation, even better than how they received it.

While observing that in today’s world, many ministers of Christ, in order to win the admiration of the world, have tilted away from the true gospel, decried that even many Catholic clerics, now celebrate the Mass and carry out the Eucharistic adoration in the way the people want, instead of what the Church teaches.

“It is sad, but true that many ministers of our time, in order to win the admiration of the world, have tilted away from the true gospel, and now teach doctrines that pleases the ear and hearts of men and women. These days, many Clerics celebrate the Mass and carry out adoration as the people want and not how the church teaches. In doing these and more, the oneness of the church in its liturgical celebrations,  is gradually losing its flavour.

“As shepherds, whom the Lord has entrusted with the care of souls, which is the regulation of liturgical celebrations and the authentic interpretation of the scriptures, it is important that these responsibilities are continuously carried out, in order to preserve the faith that has been handed onto us,” he added.

The plenary assembly now in its 5^th day, will witness another business session during which the Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) will give a report, and reports also received  from the 9 ecclesiastical provinces in Nigeria.