The crisis rocking the Catholic Diocese of Ahiara Mbaise in Imo State continued as some women in the diocese, backed by the chaplain of the Diocesan Catholic Women Organisation(ADCWO), Very Rev. Fr. Chris Uka Akuchie, are daring the Apostolic Administrator of the diocese and Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Archdiocese, His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan to hold the ADCWO Day scheduled to take place on Saturday November 29.
This is despite the radio announcement by Cardinal Onaiyekan through the Vicar-General of the diocese, Rev. Fr. Clement Ebii, canceling the event as well as the Golden Jubilee celebration scheduled for Saturday December 20, 2014, because the events had not been authorized by the Apostolic Administrator.
247ureports.com learnt that another reason for the cancellation was because all the priests and the women involved in the planning organization of the events are the people disobeying every order and directive from both the Pope and Cardinal Onaiyekan, especially when it involves the issue of Bishop Peter Okpalaeke.
It was also learnt that the priests and some of the leadership of the diocesan laity (especially Christian Men Organisation and CWO) have refused to acknowledge the leadership of Rev. Fr. Ebii as the Vicar-General of the Diocese because he is the person leading the support for the impeded Bishop Peter Okpalaeke, hence their refusal to seek Cardinal Onaiyekan’s permission to hold the event as they must be directed to meet with Ebii.
It would be recalled that Rt. Rev. Peter Okpalaeke was ordained bishop in 2012 and was posted to the Catholic Diocese of Ahiara. But the majority of the priests and the laity from the diocese rejected his posting saying he is not an indigene of Mbaise.
The priests cited marginalization as their reason, adding that Ahiara Diocese had over 1000 indigenous priests, most of who, they said, were more qualified to be bishops.
In a statement issued to counter Cardinal Onaiyekan’s radio announcement, the diocesan chaplain of the CWO, Fr. Akuchie urged the faithful to disregard the “malicious announcement” as according to him, it merely came from Fr. Ebii, whose motive, he said was to distract the pastoral events in the diocese.
The priest, who described Fr. Ebii as Orchestrated agents of disunity and destruction in the diocese, insisted that the events would go on as planned and nobody was capable of stopping it.
According to Akuchie, contrary to Fr. Ebii’s false information, Cardinal Onaiyekan did in deed approve the CWO celebration and cautioned Fr. Ebii to desist from such distractions.
In the same vein, the president of the ADCWO, Mrs. Felicia Nwogu condemned the serial distraction emanating from Fr. Ebii, who she said was acting as an acolyte to the impeded Bishop Okpalaeke.
She said the women had already put everything in motion to have a smooth outing , saying that no priest working against the aspiration of Mbaise people would stop it from holding.
Mrs. Nwogu disclosed that the Cardinal approved of the events before they were made public in the diocesan diary, describing the people behind the purported cancellation as enemies of the diocese and the church.
She added that Fr. Ebii and his group were only acting in support of Bishop Okpalaeke just for their selfish gains and advised the women of the diocese to disregard the announcement from the “little group”.