By Fr. Michael Nsikak Umoh
Sir Steve Adehi, SAN, has urged the Catholic Church to play a pivotal role in rekindling hope in Nigeria. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 1st 2025 Plenary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Adehi emphasized the significance of hope in transforming the nation.
Addressing the body of bishops and their guests at the Opening Ceremony of the CBCN plenary, Adehi spoke on the theme of the assembly: “Jubilee of Hope: A Light for a New Nigeria,” as the Chairman of the occasion which took place at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), on Sunday, 9 March, 2025.
The National President of Papal Knights in Nigeria highlighted the country’s challenges, including poverty, insecurity, economic downturn, corruption, and misery. However, he noted that there are seeds of hope that can be nurtured to bring about positive change, which include the resilient mentality of Nigerians, their determination to survive, and the emergence of a new generation of young entrepreneurs as signs of hope.
The speaker shared a story of a guest in a Lagos hotel who reported how he left a huge sum of pounds in his hotel room, and it was returned to him intact, underscoring it as a sign that there is still hope in the nation.
While commending the Church for providing quality educational, health, and social services through its institution, despite the challenging environment, the legal luminary identified three key areas where the Church can utilize the Jubilee of Hope to bring about transformation: Homilies, Ecclesial Institutions and Focus on eternal life.
The Chairman stressed the importance of homilies in instilling hope and transforming the nation. He encouraged priests to use homilies to provide genuine hope by integrating the word of God into contemporary contexts. He also emphasized the importance of ecclesial institutions in providing quality services, despite funding challenges. Adehi further stressed the need to focus on eternal life, encouraging priests to find creative ways of encouraging the faithful to participate in the sacrament of reconciliation and indulge in practices that promote eternal life.
In conclusion, Adehi made a clarion call for collective reflection and action, saying, “The Jubilee of Hope offers a fresh opportunity for us to refocus on emerging alternative realities instead of solely attending to our negative experiences.”
Leave feedback about this