What else am I going
to say now and people wouldn’t accuse me of taking sides? Just that I don’t like
it when an age long tradition in the church is made to look like a witch hunt
because of the personality involved. This is not the first time a Catholic Priest
is transferred from an urban Parish to maybe a rural setting. Transfer of
Priest is not new to the church.
In fact, with the way
things are going on now, I wouldn’t be surprised if a political undertone is
attached to it. Anyways, lipsealed, before they deny me communion. The best I can do here is to drop it exactly the
way I got it from Sunday Sun.
Sunday Sun reports
Tears flowed
uncontrollably from parishioners and members of the Adoration Ministry as fiery
Enugu Catholic priest and director of the ministry, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka,
yesterday bowed out of Christ the King Parish, GRA, Enugu, which he presided
over as parish priest for 20 years.
The entire Enugu
capital city also stood still as over 30 lorries accompanied by thousands of
his adoration faithful escorted him in a motorcade to his new parish, Our Lady
Parish, Emene, a suburb of the capital city.
Mbaka’s transfer
became a topical issue as a section of the society saw it as a punitive measure
for his recent prophecies especially that of December 31st 2014, when he
predicted that former President Goodluck Jonathan would be defeated in the 2015
elections. This has however been dismissed by the church who explained that the
transfer is a routine exercise done every six years by the bishop.
But Mbaka’s transfer
as a parish priest to a resident priest, where he will serve under another
priest, has raised eyebrows eliciting further comments from close observers.
Mbaka himself while
handing over formally to his successor yesterday told those around that he was
going to suffer, moving from a duplex to a room in his new parish but asked
them not to worry that God has bigger plans for him.
Hear him: “I know we
are going to suffer; between now and few months to come, I am going to suffer;
I am going to suffer because I have no place to lay my head; I am going to suffer because I have no place to
keep the Ministry’s assets; I know I am going to suffer; fortunate going to
suffer because I have no ly it’s going to happen in the month of Lent; so I am
going to use my exit here to observe the Lent. But Jesus said it to His
apostles in John 16:20, ‘You will be sorrowful and the world will be rejoicing
but very soon I will turn your sorrows to joy.’ So I am waiting for that moment
because for now I know we are going to suffer.
The Adoration
Ministry is passing through suffering right now; even though I have accepted it
as the will of God; it is the will of God through suffering; it is a mega
suffering. But however, the grace of God will carry us all; even though some of
you may pray that God should remove this thorn from us, the scripture says ‘His
grace is sufficient for us; for its even in your weakness that the power of God
is demonstrated. So we are moving but don’t forget the scriptures, ‘my brothers
they make me keeper of vineyards, my own vineyard I keepeth not. All these
while we have been keeping vineyards, building for Christ The King
Parish…Bishop Gbuji asked them, how much …but because I don’t want to disclose
my charity, they can’t keep that account. How many trailer loads of cement came
here? All the monies I made from my cassette and other private crusades all of
them were used to build this church. We cannot quantify it but let God be
glorified.”
“It is the will of
God; and when the will of God either permissive or however, happens, nobody
should question it. All you have today is Amen; so to the will of God Fr. Mbaka
has said Amen.”
Mbaka said he
welcomed the decision of the church leadership with absolute acceptance and
obedience, stating that nobody should see him as a recalcitrant priest. He
assured that the parish would not collapse due to his exit, and urged the
members to treat his successor, Rev. Fr. Theodore Ozoamalu, well, and to
assist him in any way he needs help and not allow him to cry.
His words:
“Don’t starve him;
don’t allow him to suffer; in my own time I didn’t need your help because God
blessed me in my own unique way and I am happy. God will keep the parish
because we have fought the good fight; I am not regretting anything and the
highest gift God has given here is his Holy Spirit who assisted me up till
now.”
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