CBCN Throw-back: Our Catholic space has been invaded by Pentecostalism – Fr. (Prof.) Akinwale

By Neta Nwosu

A Catholic priest-scholar, Rev. Fr. (Prof.) Anthony Akinwale has called on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) to take a more critical look at the surprising growth of Pentecostalism in the Catholic Church in Nigeria, saying it is a cause for concern greater than same-sex blessing. marriage which caused much controversy. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Augustine University, Ilara-Epe, Lagos, expressed this concern while presenting his paper titled “Synod on Synodality: Areas of Concern for the Church in Nigeria” at the first session 2024 plenary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN). assembly held recently in Abuja.

He said: “The Church in Nigeria should not only look outwards. She must also look within. Yet, looking inward, we must not ignore what discourages us. The Church in Nigeria must pay attention to doctrinal deviations, liturgical aberrations and poor pastoral practices. This seems to happen as we look away. “It is a well-known fact that in Nigeria, our Catholic space has been invaded by Pentecostalism. I prefer to call it Nigeria's contemporary religiosity in its expression inside and outside the Catholic Church. This type of religiosity is more concerning than the blessing of same-sex couples. “We have seen an explosion of new religious communities, some with little or nothing in terms of spirituality and charisma of consecrated life.

Fortunately, the Nigerian Conference of Catholic Bishops has addressed this phenomenon. “There is another phenomenon which the Conference must examine, not to stifle but to discern its spirit. It is the explosion of ministries in the Church of Nigeria established and sponsored by certain priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful. “Some of these ministries and ministers claim to be Catholic. They even display statues of our Blessed Mary on their websites or display the Blessed Sacrament in a way that points to sacrilege. In a time of economic hardship, false prophecies and staged miracles are touted to a traumatized, bewildered and gullible populace, while shepherds fail to save the flock from ravenous, ravaging and manipulative wolves.

According to Fr. Akinwale, “The populism of these ministries, the publicity of unauthenticated miracles and prophecies, the opium that these ministries administer to our people, are eroding the credibility of Christianity, Catholicism in particular, in our country. » But the cleric sees hope before him, he proposes formation as an answer, listen to him: “Formation of everyone in the Church, starting with the ecclesiastics. Our seminary training must be constantly reviewed to achieve the goal of safeguarding the faith. And the Church recognizes that this ends neither with priestly ordination nor with episcopal ordination. Noting that the Synod is not intended to change doctrine, Fr Akinwale stressed that it requires the people of God to walk within the framework of Catholic tradition.

He urged pastors to be teachers of apostolic doctrines, “not teachers of doctrines they invented, nor supporters or spokespersons of ideologies contradictory to apostolic doctrine,” the scholar stressed . The professor of systematic and Thomistic theology explained: “Their exercise of the pastoral office consists of receiving, preserving and transmitting the apostolic doctrine without distorting it.” Commenting on the synodal process, Fr Akinwale said: “The Synod should be a journey together within tradition and not outside of tradition. If pastors are teachers, they must not do pastoral work without doctrine, they must not exercise the will without the intellect. We cannot truly love without being sincere in love. “While it reaffirms the doctrine that marriage is the permanent and indissoluble union of a man and a woman, its assertion of the possibility of blessing same-sex couples undermines the doctrine it reaffirms. If we, as a Church, adopt a pastoral practice that undermines our doctrine, if our pastoral practice is in contradiction with the doctrine we preach, it is our very credibility that is undermined. »

“Though the spirit should not be quenched, every spirit must be tested. This is discernment. And the result of the discernment process may be the incapacity or refusal of some who, like the rich young man, will leave sad, or of some disciples, who will find the teaching and language of the Gospel unacceptable. In conclusion, Fr. Akinwale stated: “A synod is not a political consensus. Because there is a political synod and there is an ecclesial synod. The first is what happens when political activists and ideologues strategize and “walk together” in their quest for voice and political power. “A synod, always in the true ecclesial sense of the term and not in the sense of a political or ideological consensus, is a participation in the work which consists of going to the whole world to announce that we have been found by the Truth then that we seek the Truth. »

“Therefore, if we want to preach a domesticated, personalized, attractive Gospel, a Gospel that makes the world applaud our political correctness or our politically correct pastoral initiatives, then we had better forget this mission. Because such a Gospel only exists in the slogans of political campaigns. “The first announcement of the Gospel by Peter, on the day of Pentecost, invited the people to conversion. Our mission is to invite people to conversion. The Gospel demands conversion. The invitation of the gospel is a requirement. Such an invitation will or may result in unpleasant consequences for the preacher of the Gospel. “

“Despite these risks, the Church of our time, the Church of Nigeria in particular, must have the courage of the martyrs of old to receive, preserve and transmit the Gospel which comes to us from the apostles. She will exercise this courage by identifying, raising and addressing the questions that concern her for the apostolic tradition, for the synodal process and for the social and ecclesial realities with which she faces.