3-4 minutes
The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, says
coronavirus has become an acid test for Christendom to determine
genuine clerics.
He said pastors and priests after prosperity are businessmen and not called by God.
Kaigama said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja in response to
the protests by pastors and imams against closure of places of worship
because of COVID-19.
Kaigama said, “This is the time to know who are true shepherds of the
flock and those who are just engaged in work of religion in order to
amass wealth for themselves or to acquire wealth and prosperity.
“This is the acid test now. If you are a pastor or priest in order to
serve the people and lead them to heaven, then whether coronavirus is
active or not, you will still go on to do that.
“But if you are a pastor or priest in order to acquire material wealth,
in order to enjoy prosperity, then, I’m sorry, you’re not called by God.
You’re a businessman or businesswoman and not a priest or pastor.
“This is the time we should see real men of God who are dedicated, even
to the point of giving everything they have, including their lives in
the service of the people of God.
“This is a moment of trial for us, we hope that we will pass the test
with distinction as pastors and we will be able to stand by our people
solidly without money.
“If the collections are not coming to the church, tithes are not there,
how do you do? Will you run away and abandon the sheep? No, as a good
shepherd, you should stand strong and firm and be there for the people
and pray for good time to come again.”
He backed those forced to suspend weddings because of the COVID -19 pandemic.
Kaigama said, “We have to be alive first, our priority now is to be
alive and healthy. So, whatever we need to do to stay alive is more
important. Things can be put on hold and if you can’t put things on
hold, you have to manage by scaling them down.
“You can see, even in the church that we have not been holding our
regular activities because we want to make sure we don’t increase the
spread of this coronavirus. The same with government, banks and many
other institutions. Everything has to be scaled down.
“The situation dictates what is possible, if there wasn’t any pandemic,
things would go as normal. But now with the way it is, everything has
to change. Life can’t be the same and marriage is good but must not be
done according to what society feels it should be. Marriage can be done
quietly and it is still marriage.”
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