ALAS, Nigerian Catholic priests of the Ahiara Diocese in Imo State have apologised to the Catholic pontiff, Pope Francis, for refusing to accept Bishop Peter Okpaleke as the consecrated bishop of the Ahiara Diocese.

This was made known on Sunday, July 2, after a meeting Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, had with Catholic Clerics from Ahiara Diocese in Imo State.

A release made available to journalists  in Owerri by Sam Onwuemeodo, chief press secretary to the governor, quoted Rev. Fr. Joseph Ezeji to have made the admission during the meeting which was over their refusal to accept Okpaleke, as consecrated Bishop for the diocese.

“Rev. Fr. Joseph Ezeji gave the vote of thanks, pledging allegiance to the Papacy, to abide by the decisions of the Pope and confirmed that all Mbaise priests have written their letters of apology to the Pope.

“What the people are requesting  is for any Bishop groomed from their soil to lead them. The canon law seems to have been bent in the case of Ahiara Diocese,” the release said.

The release quoted Okorocha as saying: “We must change the story of Ahiara. I want to state here categorically that since this crisis, I’ve been listening patiently and watching. But I  had wished that my advice was taken ab-initio and ipso-facto. If Mbaise must be in the news, it must be in the news for the right reasons. This is because Mbaise is the largest  single ethnic group in the South-East and there is no place you will go in this world without having an Mbaise man doing well in that region. Mbaise also contributes substantially to what makes Imo thick.”

– July 3, 2017 @ 4:24 GMT |