Follow Us on Google
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev Ignatius Kaigama, has advised youths and other Nigerians to use the Valentine’s day celebration to build bridges of love and not walls of hatred.
The bishop believes that bridges of love would further strengthen the fragile peace and unity in Nigeria, as against what the walls of hatred would do to the nation.
Bishop Kaigama, in his Homily delivered at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral, Abuja, also encouraged Nigerians to show compassion, especially to those maltreated, deprived and rejected by the society for one reason or another.
He said: “For instance, the disease of leprosy symbolises the misery of our sin-infected society and disfigured humanity. Apart from physical leprosy, the world suffers from the leprosy of sin which is worst than any infectious disease.
“Sin corrupts soul, separates us from God, spoils our relationship with one another, enslave us perpetually, makes us unclean, keeps us troubled, robs us of our innocence and inner peace, and separates us from the community of believers.
“Obviously, the world wants to do everything by mere human reasoning or scientific and technological skills, hoping to conveniently exclude God who is seen as an intruder rather than the Creator of heaven and earth.
“The world is trying very hard to distance God from human affairs, its hearts and souls from God, so that modern man can live comfortably with all kinds of freedoms without God!.
“As the world celebrates Valentine’s Day, let it be about true love in daily human interactions and relationships, in marriage and in the society because love is the greatest gift and without love we are nothing.
“If we can’t show true love to others, all we say is ineffective, what we say is incomplete, what we believe is insufficient, what we give is insignificant and all we accomplish is inadequate.”
Meanwhile, the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) has decried government’s failure to utilise the 425 hospitals and clinics offered it by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) for use as isolation centres in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
The CSN’s Director, Church and Society, Rev. Fr. Uchechukwu Obodoechina, in a statement, said government, in its “ineptitude” never recognised the great sacrifice made by the Church and never showed any gratitude in that regard.
He stated: “During the intense period of the COVID-19, Catholic Church through the Bishops’ Conference donated its 425 health facilities to Federal Government for use in order to reach the grass root in response to COVID-19 pandemic.
“Unfortunately, the government never appreciated the sacrifice made by the Church, never used the facilities, never showed gratitude in that regard, yet the Church continued in her little way to show solace and assistance to the poor at her disposal in the rural areas and wherever they find themselves”.
The Cleric confirmed that the Church is doing elaborately well in the various facilities, in the various local churches and therefore solicited subvention from the government to the Church.
“What we have been doing are not enough because the Church don’t have enough resources to give a hundred per cent healthcare services for rural communities. We expected the government to give subvention to the Church health facilities, equip them to deliver health care services to rural communities,” he said.
