“Diversities in the Church are points of strength for building up of the community” – Bishop Camillus Umoh
CBCN Orlu 2022: Day-5 Proceedings
Rachel Kogi, CSN
In accordance with the routine of the horarium for the 2022 Bishops’ plenary meeting in Orlu Diocese, the activities of day-5 opened with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament by 6am, and then the Holy Mass.
Today, September 13, 2022, the Bishop of Ikot-Ekpene Diocese, Most Rev. Camillus Umoh, was the Chief celebrant and the homilist at the Mass. In the homily, he admonished the faithful to imitate St. Paul by making good use of the gifts bestowed on them, to build up, rather than for the destruction of the body of Christ.
Bishop Umoh built the background from the first reading taken from 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-31, noting that it illustrated “how the early Church managed its various and diverse difficulties especially in the Pauline Churches.” In his words, “the image of the body which St. Paul used in the reading was to call the attention of the Corinthians to the fact that the diversities and differences that they had, should be their points of strength, instead of points of weakness.”
The Chief Shepherd emphasised that “all the parts of the body, even though made different both in character and in function, should be used for the building up of the body and not for its destruction.” He said, “there is nobody who does not have a gift” therefore, “no matter how big or small your gift is, it must be channeled to building up the body of Christ.”
Furthermore, the Prelate observed that “we have these characteristics and tendencies not only in our nation but also in our Churches and Dioceses where some persons capitalise on the weaknesses of the leader or Bishop or Priest to create divisions in the community.”
Bishop Umoh concluded that “the Church is the body of Christ and the faithful are the different parts.” “All the gifts by themselves mean nothing unless they are properly used for the benefit of the common good both in the Church and the civil society.”
Coming after the Mass was the continuation of the Bishops’ deliberations on the resolutions of the Administrative Board and on the reports from the nine ecclesiastical Provinces.
The sessions will continue tomorrow, September 14, 2022 with further deliberations on several issues already raised, bordering on the Church and the nation.
