The Bishop, Most Rev. Jonas Okoye, has now withdrawn the five Spiritans priests, also known as Holy Ghost Priests, from the faculty of the Catholic Diocese Nnewi in Anambra State as the crisis there worsens.
The diocese's former director of communications, Rev. Fr. Hyginus Aghaulor, told reporters on Tuesday that the priests would no longer be allowed to perform any duties within the diocese and that even when they did, such tasks would be seen as meaningless.
"If they hold a wedding while also baptizing someone, the marriage and baptism are void. Because the bishop withdrew their faculty, they are unable to even celebrate mass, he claimed.
Recall that the Bishop and the Holy Ghost priests have been at odds since since he dispatched the diocesan to the St. Martin of Tours parish in Ihiala, where the five Holy Ghost priests were serving as pastors. According to reports, the bishop requested that they quit the church and transfer to one of their schools.
However, this choice did not sit well with the parishioners, who later organized a protest against it. The bishop had been summoned to reverse his choice.
Aghaulor added that the priests were not fired but rather requested to leave the St. Martin of Tours Parish in Ihiala in order for the diocese to grow, comparing the priests' refusal and protest to that of Fr. Ejike Mbaka and the Adoration Ministry Enugu.
He declared, "The priests weren't fired; rather, they were reassigned. The Bishop has the authority to reassign priests, and that is what he did, in accordance with the Canon Law by which the church is governed.
In addition, the Spiritans have hampered the bishop's efforts to found a new parish in Ihiala. With over 400 priests in our diocese, there was a need for more deployments, so the bishop established a new parish and sent some of our priests there. The Spiritans have since been moved to the juniorate.
"The Spiritans have refused to go, trying to thwart the bishop's sincere attempts," he continued.
"According to the Spiritans, Archbishop Heerey awarded them the parish in 1967. That was in accordance with the 1917 Code, but canon 6 of the 1983 Code revoked it unless such matters were reissued in the 1983 Code, which is not supported by any evidence. Thirdly, the 1983 Code was repealed, making a pastor a legally recognized person. A priest must be a physical person in order to be appointed as a pastor.
Fr. Aghaulor made it clear that the priests' dismissal was not in issue and that the bishop in charge of the diocese just chose to reassign them to different positions.
While condemning the priests' disobedience, he said that such behavior was not taught to priests and that there were consequences for their disobedience.
"We are all aware that disobedience has consequences. It is bad that the Spiritans disobeyed the Bishop. The Bishop is in charge of the diocese and has the authority to assign persons to the jobs that he desires.