Fr. Luke Ijezie’s response to Modest Chibuikem’s article on Why are people leaving the Catholic Church?

Let me try to defend the apparently indefensible. Most of the time, when we priests or the Church are accused of laxity, we tend to further increase the accusation by piling up our imperfections since we know each other that some/many of us are not measuring up to expectations. But is that enough to always swallow every accusation without objection or criticalevaluation? Let not someone accuse me of being too apologetic. Even if so, let it be that I have a different but more complex opinion.
Some issues to deconstruct:
1. Some expose-all critics may or may not have an axe to grind. I once had a student writing his project with me, and he was merciless in his critique of parish priests in a particular Diocese. I got interested and found out he was expelled from the Seminary because of a crime he supposedly committed while working with a priest in the diocese. I have also seen some priests who never speak any good word about the Church and her leaders because they feel aggrieved, having been denied a desired appointment, may be. One thing is clear: Good Catholics sparingly expose the ills of the Church, especially scandals, on Facebook.
2. The Church is often accused of failing in catechesis. This may be true in some areas. But wait! The Catholic Church is almost the only church that holds gatherings every day in form of morning masses. How many attend? Fault of priests always? Maybe? How about those who hold weekly Nkuzi nke Okwukwe – how many Parishioners attend? How about the many pious associations unique only to the Catholic Church? How many attract new members? We often forget that the Catholic Church is a mass movement and not just a priest’s thing or Uka Fada as we wrongly emphasise. The priest can never do it all and should not do it all.
3. Scandals? Who says Catholic leaders cannot sin? Puritanical religion is no religion. One must struggle, however. But, one who comes to church on the belief that the Church leader is sinless needs yet to encounter Jesus and his Gospel. But why do some leave the Catholic Church and join churches and sects whose leaders are involved in public scandals or even in occult acts?
4. My friends, looking for why some people are leaving the Catholic Church may not all be explained on the basis of clerical laxity. That may be an issue, but my experience and research point yonder. People of our age have diverse expectations which they don’t easily find in the Catholic Church. Some are looking for liberation from hardship, quick breakthrough, instant healing, utopic lifestyle, pleasurable fellowship, power, miracle working God, etc etc. It is an age with little faith due to many other attractions. The more the priests go out to satisfy all these expectations the more often they water down the Catholic faith.
So let us take some open criticisms with some pinch of salt. They may sometimes be true, but most times they hide other motives or are not properly thought out. Just a reflection! Luke Ijezie