He questioned the rationale behind such orders by CAN and how they arrived at the decision, “because I don’t believe in praying on a particular day. I will say, pray that God will deliver us from this, not particularly on January 8, 2017.”
The General Secretary of CAN, Dr. Musa Asake, had declared Sunday, January 8, 2017, as “national day of mourning” for all Christians at home and in the Diaspora, and that Christians should dress in mourning attire; black clothes or dresses, on the said date to pray fervently for victims of the killings in Southern Kaduna.
But speaking with Saturday PUNCH in Abuja, Onaiyekan said whoever gave that instruction should have known that there is a limit to how they could issue orders to Christians using the name of CAN.
He said, “I do not know what to say about the present leadership of CAN because our (Catholic) church is not fully involved now in CAN. We were not even party to the election that brought in the new leadership of CAN. So, the only position that I can take now is to sit down and watch.
“I cannot tell all my members to come to church next Sunday in black dresses. We don’t get instructions from CAN; every church has its own rules.”
Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Owerri Catholic archdiocese in Imo State, Anthony Obinna, has alleged that the continued killings in Southern Kaduna were to intimidate Christians and wipe out Christianity from the country.
Speaking at a thanksgiving service in Okwu community recently, Obinna urged the Federal Government not to allow the crisis to degenerate into a full scale national crisis, which he said could lead to a collapse of the country.
He also advised Christians to be vigilant and pray for their counterparts in the crisis-ridden Southern Kaduna, while calling on former governors of Imo and Abia States, Ikedi Ohakim and Oji Uzor Kalu respectively, who were present at the service and other Igbo leaders to work closely for the growth and development of the South East zone.
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