Fides Media Living the Faith
By Josef Ishu
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan kukah, on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, has declared that Priests do not gather to celebrate achievements like those in public offices do.
Bishop Kukah made the assertion in his homily during the silver jubilee of the ordination of the Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese, Most Rev. Stephen Dami Mamza held at St. Theresa’s Cathedral, Yola, Adamawa State.
According to Bishop Kukah: “We have not like the public officers, who despite using our resources still claim what they have spent our money on, as achievement. A priest cannot line up those he has administered the sacraments to as trophies of his achievements, nor can a bishop on a day like this say, all those whom I have ordained, please stand up for recognition”.
Instead, the homilist stated that a day such as the silver jubilee of the ordination of a priest is a day for to be reminded that there is nothing that we have that has not been given to us (1 Cor. 4:7). “Indeed, today is a day that with humility, we must bow and acknowledge God our creator who called us. We must acknowledge all those great men and women, from our immediate parents, siblings and extended family, to the larger family of the body of Christ, our teachers. Those great catechists who made tremendous sacrifices, those who formed us in the seminaries, those great Elis in our lives who directly or indirectly, helped us to process the language of God into human form. May God bless them”, Bishop Kukah prayed.
Bishop Kukah congratulated his Brother-Bishop, Most Rev. Mamza, who he described as a very young man who has done and continues to do great things. “He is 25 years a priest today and only ten years a bishop. As the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Adamawa State Chapter, he has created a fantastic working relationship with the State without compromising the integrity of his office”.
He continued: “Yesterday, some of us were lucky to be at the great event that happened at Sangeri-Margi, here in the state capital, Yola. In an unprecedented move, Bishop Mamza embarked on a ground breaking initiative that has seen the provision of 86 housing units for hundreds of families who had been living in his cathedral since 2014”.
The Bishop noted with dismay that the pain and suffering that Boko Haram has inflicted on Nigeria will scar our society for life.” It has taken us to be bottom of the hill. When I visited Yola in the course of my work with the American University, I witnessed the resilience of individuals. Someone told me that if you lived in this town and did not have refugees in your home, then it was a sign that you were a wicked man”, Bishop Kukah revealed.
(SOURCE: NIGERIA CATHOLIC NETWORK)