From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
The Spiritual Director and Adoration Ministry Enugu, Nigeria (AMEN), Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, has reacted to ongoing crisis rocking the Nsukka Catholic Diocese.
The face-off between the Bishop, Rt. Rev Godfrey Onah and his priest, Rev. Fr. Paul Obayi, spiritual director of Okunerere Adoration Ministry, came to light when the priest, in a viral video, accused the bishop and the church of oppressing him.
He alleged that some priests, who claimed to be acting on the order of the Bishop, broke the entrance gate to his adoration ministry. His outcry has remained a subject of controversy on social media, with people taking various positions.
Reacting to the development, Mbaka warned those oppressing Obayi to desist or face the consequences of their actions. The fiery cleric, who said his fellow priests always abandoned him whenever he faced similar oppression, noted that he would always stand out.
He demanded that Obayi should be shielded from what he described as “attacks and forces of darkness, whims and caprices of hawks, vultures and serpents.
“Father Obayi may not be the best, but he’s good. He has done so well in winning souls to God. He should not be messed up. Those who should shield this young man from attacks and forces of darkness should not pass him to the whims and caprices of hawks, vultures and serpents.
“Father Obayi should not be exposed to predators. The chief shepherd of that diocese should protect that young man. Obayi should not be compensated with sorrow and should not be handed over a dead child.
“But I will warn my brother priest not to be tempted into leaving the priesthood. Let him be courageous, let him be steadfast, let him be resolute. His labours will never be in vain.
“I have been trying to get him through the phone, but I have not. I saw the thing on social media, so I am replying through social media. Jesus in the Eucharist is the one you should look to. He will keep you, Father. He will shield you from the valleys of shadows of death. He will preserve you.
“Don’t forget you have dealt tortuously with many demons, so they cannot leave you unharassed. The devil can use many people to attack you back.
“If such a man could leave the occult world and come into Christianity, and he would be bullied in his Christian family, where would he now run to? The Bible says the foundation, once destroyed, what shall the just man do? Because the sceptre of the wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the just. Otherwise, the just will be forced to put hand in evil.
“Those who brought poverty and hardships in the land, nobody has done anything to them. Nobody has done anything to the wicked ones in the society. Meanwhile, the messenger of God has been made to cry in the house of God for nothing.
“It is easy to attack me, and I will endure, but you cannot attack a fellow prophet, and I will be silent. Listen, whoever is doing this thing to Obayi, he should not cry for you people again. Beware, Jesus said that every sin could be forgiven, except the sin against the Holy Spirit. When you have not verified what a man of God is doing, you begin to blackmail it and misinterpret it,” he said.