SUMMARY OF CBCN COMMUNIQUE

Summary of the Communique of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria
By Padre Michael Nsikak Umoh, CSN

  

1. Following the broadcast of the communique of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) on the official App of the Catholic Church in Nigeria, nigeriacatholicnetwork.com, one of the many responses I got from a well-educated lady was “Thanks Padre Umoh for the “tortuously” long but comprehensive communique. God Bless.” That set me thinking. In response therefore, this effort is an attempt to reduce a long but ‘comprehensive communique’ into a manageable length so that more people can get a gist of the content. After all, as it is said in Nigerian parlance, ‘half bread is better than puff-puff’. I hope you will find it helpful. Please, do not forget to share with others.

2. The title of the CBCN communique, released on Thursday 10 March 2022, is “Human Fraternity: Path to Building Sustainable Peace in Nigeria”. It is divided into the following 8 sections:(1) Preamble;(2) We all are brothers and sisters;(3) The state of the nation; (4) The media: God’s gifts to humanity; (5) The synodal journey, an expression of fraternity; (6) Events in the Church; (7) Lent, a period for interior conversion and (8) Conclusion.

3. The second section showed that the theme of the Bishops’ meeting was based on the document titled Fratelli Tutti, which was released by Pope Francis in October 2020. Against the growing hatred and war in the world, Pope Francis, in the document, emphasised the need for all human beings to understand that everyone in this world, irrespective of race, nationality, culture, ethnicity, religious or political affiliation and geographical distance, are created by One God. As such, instead of the culture of violence and killings, as we presently witness in Nigeria and Ukraine, everyone should respect and embrace every human person, and seek and strive after peace and unity.

4. On the state of the nation, the Bishops touched on 3 important issues: (1) Promoting fraternity through good politics and governance; (2) Constitutional and electoral reforms: recipe for peace and development; and (3) Need for dialogue and friendship to counter violence and insecurity.

5. In view of the first above, the Bishops extolled politics as a noble vocation for the common good, while reminding political office holders of their constitutional duty to govern well and seek ways of uniting the people rather than dividing them through actions like unfair distribution of social amenities and government appointments that lack sensitivity to the Federal Character. They also lamented the poor educational system and urged the Federal Government to urgently resolve the matter with ASUU so that the youths can get back to school. They condemned all those who use religious and ethnic cards to manipulate the people while also encouraging eligible Nigerians to be active in politics and in the forthcoming national population census.

6. The Bishops praised the Government for signing the Electoral Amendment Act 2022, and for the adoption of modern technology for election, while challenging INEC to be up and doing in their duty. They also commended Government for their effort towards reforming the national Constitution and tasked all those responsible to play their role dutifully as they continue calling for appropriate voter education.

7. For the umpteenth time, the Bishops condemned the state of violence and insecurity in the land and challenged those in government to show sincerity and do more especially by employing dialogue.

8. In the fourth section of the document, the Bishops reaffirmed the Church’s teaching on media as God’s gifts to humanity, which has the overwhelming power to build unity and friendship among human beings. Aware also of the possible negative uses, they strongly encouraged a conscious positive engagement of these tools for evangelisation and for building communities of love. Towards acquiring the skills for positive engagement of the media, the Bishops encouraged everyone in the Church and beyond to participate actively in the Communications Week (ComWEEK) programme, a media literacy initiative which they instituted to run in all parishes in Nigeria from 22 to 29 May this year. Thus, they requested all Catholics to download comweeknigeria.com App for the ComWEEK daily programme, and, the nigeriacatholicnetwork.com app for news, events and data, as the official App of the Catholic Church in Nigeria designed for synergy and pastoral guidance.

9. Moreover, in union with the Holy Father, the Bishops called on all Catholics to participate actively in the ongoing special synodal process which is characterized by listening to everyone in the Church, dialogue and collaboration as a proven means of boosting fraternity which will lead to renewal of faith and greater commitment to Christian ideals and values.

10. Coming to events in the Church, the Bishops noted the following joyful events: Appointments of Bishop Jonas Benson Okoye as the new Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Bishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Owerri (his installation comes up on 23 June),and Bishop Emmanuel Badejo as a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. They prayed for the happy repose of the soul of Bishop Paul Olawoore, Bishop of Ilorin. They thanked God with Bishop Hilary Okeke on his retirement and also noted the milestone celebrations in Umuahia Diocese (100 years), Diocese of Port Harcourt (60 years), Diocese of Kafanchan (25 years), and the foundation of Legion of Mary in Nigeria(100 years).

11. They encouraged all Catholics to participate in the National Bible Week in parishes (18 to 25 September 2022), in the National Pastoral Congress in Benin City (7-11 November 2022), and in the National Eucharistic Congress also in Benin City (11 and 12 November 2022).

12. The new book of the Prayer of the Faithful, produced by the Pastoral Affairs Department of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, was presented to all Christ’s faithful for liturgical use.

13. The new leaders of CBCN were presented, with Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, the newly appointed Archbishop of Owerri, as the new President. They thanked the immediate past CBCN President, Archbishop Augustine Akubeze, and his team for a job well done.

14. The Chief Shepherds did not fail to remind the faithful of the essence of Lent as a privileged moment for interior examination and conversion. They urged everyone to shun inordinate desire for power and money, but rather, to seek healing and reconciliation.

15. The Bishops concluded the communique on the strength of the words of Pope Francis: “Let us dream then, as a single human family, as fellow travellers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her beliefs and convictions, brothers and sisters of all” (FT 8); and prayed for lasting peace in Nigeria through the intercession of Mary, Queen and Patroness of Nigeria.

NB.

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• Download the official App of the Catholic Church in Nigeria,  nigeriacatholicnetwork.com App on playstore (android phones) or Apple store (iphones)
• Note the comweeknigeria.com App for the daily programme of the communications week (ComWEEK). Active from First week of May, 2022.