The Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. James Anelu of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Enu-Owa Gberigbe in Ikorodu, Lagos State, has been suspended for banning Igbo songs and choruses in his parish.
The priest had reportedly stopped a soul lifting chorus angrily during the second collection in his parish while stating that Igbos could not keep dominating other people in his parish.
Witnesses testified that he referred to the Benin Diocese, in which the Igbos dominated to the point of becoming the bishop, and said that God in any place would only recognize languages indigenous to that territory.
In response to the priest’s remarks which was not well received by the congregation, the entire congregation walked out of the mass in protest.
Alfred Martins, the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, however, directed the priest to take ‘an indefinite leave of absence’.
In letter dated February 7, Martins said:
“It has been brought to our notice that Rev Fr James Anelu, the priest-in-charge of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Ewu-Owa, Ikorodu, made some completely unacceptable comments about Igbo songs being sung in the Church and unsavoury remarks that do not represent the Catholic church’s position on the common brotherhood of peoples of all tribes and religions.
“For this reason, he has been asked to proceed on an indefinite leave of absence to give an opportunity for a thorough investigation of all the matters relating to his ministry on the parish. The leave of absence takes effect from Tuesday, February 8, 2021, till further notice
“We, therefore, urge all Catholic faithful to hold on to the faith and continue in worship of God as one big family united and not separated by language, culture, or race.”
Alleluia is the Assistant Editor and Content Writer at LagosPost.ng. She is a prolific writer and editor, she has written features and news stories on Lifestyle, Sports, Business, Politics and B2B marketing. She is also an event coordinator, host and social media content creator.
