HIGHLIGHTS OF ADDRESS BY CBCN PRESIDENT, ARCHBISHOP LUCIUS IWEJURU UGORJI

By Rev. Fr. Michael Nsikak Umoh, CSN

“If we cast a cursory glance at the present state of our nation, we are inclined to conclude that this seems to be the worst of times for our country in the areas of security and the economy. Despite the huge sums of money appropriated monthly as security votes, our communities have continued to experience persistent insecurity.”

“Many communities across the nation have been taken over completely by criminals. Families have lost their ancestral lands to armed invaders and land-grabbers. The social and economic lives of communities have been paralysed due to insecurity. Schools have been shut down, and children can no longer continue their education.”

“The reform agenda of the present government has added to the plight of Nigerians. …. High spiralling inflation has made it difficult for the average Nigerian to access basic commodities, including food items and medication.”

“As a result of the government’s reform agenda, millions of Nigerians have been reduced to a life of grinding poverty, wanton suffering, and untold hardship as never before in our national history. In a bid to survive, an increasing number of the poor have resorted to begging.”

“While many impoverished Nigerians continue to suffer and die as a result of the hardship caused by the government’s economic reforms, the president has continued to urge the populace to make even more and more sacrifices with the assurance that brighter days lay ahead.”

“As the government demands additional sacrifice from the struggling masses, one would expect to see a drastic cut in the cost of running the government at all levels. On the contrary, it is worrisome to watch top government functionaries living by the sweat, toil and tears of the poor. They continue spending huge public funds on ostentatious and luxurious lifestyles and seem incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor.”

“It is no less worrisome to note that corruption among many public servants has gone beyond scale and measure.”

“Many of our youths are deeply wounded and degraded by unemployment and poverty, which make them feel rejected by the very society into which they were born. Consequently, thousands of them seek relief from drugs and alcohol and eventually end up in violent crimes. In search of greener pastures, many others try to migrate to foreign lands, where hard times often await them.”

“Regrettably, an extensive brain drain continues in this way in our nation, where manpower is needed to revamp the ailing economy and foster national development.”

“No doubt, the government is trying its very best to fix our battered economy and security outfits. If we have to be very frank with ourselves and not wallow in self-delusion, we must admit that we are faced with a case where therapy is worse than the disease. The government’s reform agenda is turning out to be counterproductive.”

“No matter how one looks at it, the government’s reform efforts to rejig the security architecture of our country have woefully failed to plug the many loopholes in the system.”

“We must also be frank to admit that the government’s efforts to fight corruption in the country have remained prostrate, and as a result, Nigeria is rated as one of the most corrupt nations in the world. The crusade against corruption needs to be more proactive.

“Until our anti-corruption institutions can successfully prosecute and jail corrupt government officials, corruption will continue to thrive in our country.”

“Given the ambiguities in the Declaration (Fiducia Supplicans), the document quickly aroused mixed reactions of acceptance, sceptical reserve and outright rejection from Episcopal Conferences and individual bishops across the world. Documents from the Holy See should normally foster unity and communion among Bishops on matters of doctrine, morals and liturgy. Unfortunately, Fiducia Supplicanstends to hurt the unity and catholicity of the Church.”

“In the midst of this confusion and pushback (by Fiducia Supplicans), we must, as pastors with the pastoral task of safeguarding the deposit of faith in its purity and integrity, uphold the teaching of the Church based on Holy Scripture and Tradition. In the New Age, we find ourselves where the protagonists and sponsors of post-modern secularist ideologies use the powerful opinion-shaping instrument of the mass media to spread a permissive culture in the name of freedom and human rights we should be able to properly discern and differentiate between the “voice of God” and the “voice of the world”.”

“In line with our earlier Clarification and the Declaration of SECAM, we must continue to teach our faithful that there is no possibility of blessing same-sex couples or same-sex unions in the Church in Africa. Homosexual acts are acts of grave depravity, which are intrinsically disordered and, above all, contrary to natural law (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2357).”

“In furtherance of our pastoral and prophetic mission, we must also continue to stress that God loves the sinner unconditionally and calls him to repentance so that he might live. As sinners, we are all encouraged to emulate the Prodigal Son, who abandoned his sinful past and returned to his father’s house (cf. Lk 15:11 – 32).”