Church massacre : Why we don’t investigate donors’ income sources – Nnewi bishop

 

in the wake of the killings of innocent worshipers at St Philip’s Catholic Church, Amakwa Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State on August 6, 2017, the Catholic Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Most Rev Hilary Odili Okeke has been playing host to scores of sympathizers trooping in from various parts of Nigeria and beyond to Nnewi where the diocesan bishop’s court is located to commiserate with the bishop.

The Diocesan bishop while speaking with newsmen lamented the desecration of the church by the tragic incident. However, he said its cleansing would have been possible, if the church had been dedicated in the first place, but because it was not dedicated, Bishop Okeke ruled out its re-dedication.

His words: “It is very disastrous, I really believe it was a terrible thing that happened to us. That it happened in the church even makes it worse and it is unacceptable to us or any other one. Violence in the church is church desecration and the implication is that the devil is at work. The devil can work anywhere. That the devil led people to come into the church to kill shows that the devil is very much at work.

“As for the cleansing, we would have done that, especially if the church was dedicated, but this church was not dedicated. If it were a dedicated church, it would be rededicated. All we have to do is to pray. We have already done that. The day we went there, we discovered that it was sealed and we went to a nearby place and celebrated mass, not only for God to give eternal rest for the dead but a speedy recovery of the wounded and also for God to touch the lives of those who committed the heinous crime.” 

On this touchy issue, he said: “But if you get the information that the person is making his money through a dubious way in criminality, then you know what to do. It is not just a question of anybody who brings money or offers anything to the church, you go to the police and ask them to investigate this man’s source of wealth before you accept it. It is not done. If you do it, then even in the church we should not be accepting any money because evil people can come to church and give. It is God who knows if the person is giving the money from criminal or immoral source. God knows everybody and will reward the person accordingly. If you know that the person is a criminal that is when you now tell him, my man go and change.”

He said about fifteen churches in the Diocese were built by private individuals and noted that it is only someone who had been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction that the church would not accept offers from. “Even in the Bible it is not the work of the church to begin to cast people away. The church is for the saints and sinners and it is our duty to continue to preach to the sinners.”

Source- Sunnews