Politics
A Knight of Saint John, Sir Moses Ugwu, has urged Catholic priests to steer clear of partisan politics by resisting the temptation to endorse candidates ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Ugwu made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Wednesday, saying that some clerics were getting it wrong by endorsing candidates or political parties.
He said the responsibility of a priest is to guide his followers and win more souls for God.
The knight said political leaders needed the prayers of priests, especially when they are not doing well, adding that clerics should avoid heating up the polity.
Ugwu said priests and pastors were not in any way suppose to appear partisan both in body language, preaching or activities or as fathers to all.
“The whole congregation and entire people are looking up to them, taking side by endorsing candidates will be counterproductive and will promote disunity in the country,” he said.
Contributing, Mrs Angela Agbo, the President of St. Jude’s Catholic Parish, Abakpa Nike Enugu, urged the priests to be clear, straight forward and spiritual in their utterances in public.
She said it is wrong for clerics to indulge in predictions of the outcome of general elections because it could go either way at the end.
Agbo said it would be embarrassing for a priest or a pastor when the result of an election turned out to be negative adding that it was not advisable for a priest to endorse a candidate, support a political party or predict the outcome of an election.
She emphasised the need for catholic priests to stick to their callings which, she said, was essentially the winning of souls for God.
She reminded priests dabbling into politics of the day they would account for their actions before God who is watching their actions and utterancaes. (NAN)
– Dec. 5, 2018 @ 18:45 GMT |
Tags: 2019: Catholic knight cautions priests against endorsement of parties candidates
