Chief Modestus Umenzekwe (Onwa na Achina), is a Catholic faithful from birth and a member of Catholic Men’s Organisation (CMO), a Patron of Catholic Women’s Organisation Awka Diocese and Ekwulobia Diocese. He is also past chairman, Parish Pastoral Council and Chairman Parish Development Council at St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Achina, In this interview with SUCCESS DAMIAN, she spoke to on the Reception organized for Peter Cardinal Ebele Okpaleke on Saturday, September 8, 2022, and its implication for Ekwulobia Diocese and Nigeria as a whole. Excerpts:
Chief we want you to speak on the Reception organized for Peter Cardinal Ebele Okpaleke and its implication for Ekwulobia Diocese and Nigeria as a whole.
Mr Journalist I want to thank you so much. First of all, a Cardinal, from my own and conventional understanding is a very high ranking priest in the Catholic Church, next to Pope. Any person in the rank of Cardinal is already part of the conclave, he will participate in the selection of Pope and he can be selected as Pope. So they are like, you know in heaven, we have angels working with God, so in the Catholic Church, they are like angels working with the Pope because the Pope is the representative of Christ on earth, as we are meant to believe and we believe as Catholics and as Christians. And you know Pope is the number one person in the whole world, whether any person believes or not, so for somebody to have risen to the rank of Cardinal, it is a great achievement, it is not by might, but by God’s grace. That shows that as far as Catholic Church is concerned, the person is near perfect and almost impeccable. And that is reflected in the person of Peter Cardinal Ebele Okpaleke of Ekwulobia Diocese in Aguata Local Government of Anambra State.
I must stress also that Cardinal Okpaleke is very exceptional, a young man, below 60 years, if I am not mistaking, he rose with geometrical progression in rank, because of his intelligence, knowledge in the doctrines of Catholic Church and above all, humility. He is a very humble person, he is cool-headed; he has a very good shock absorbing system. You see there is something I noticed in him, during burial for instance, in the Catholic Church, burial masses normally start 10am, but by 9am, you see Bishop Okpaleke, he will even come before the congregation, he will start with the rosary, he doesn’t joke with the rosary. You will see other priests under running helter-skelter to join him, and you won’t see him punishing them rather he keep on admonishing them on the importance of showing leadership by example.
For instance when my mother was buried he came there before other priests, the road was bad, and that is what we are talking about in governance, despite the palliative works I did on the roads still it was not passable even with jeep. That is why I keep saying that some of these areas in my area, in Achina in Aguata LGA, unless you have a caterpillar as a private vehicle, I have been saying it and I will continue to say that. The mass was to be done in the church but because of the rain all the palliatives I did got destroyed by the rain, and then in his own benevolence, in his own humility and magnanimity, he had to trek from the church to my house and officiated that burial, without complaining and without grudging.
Recalled he was made the Bishop of Ahiara Diocese, but Ahiara Diocese rejected him, locked up the cathedral, abandoned him, cajoled him and moved a lot of petitions against him as I heard at different quarters, that he did this and he did that. Then, the fine, young gentleman refused to address the press. At one time I confronted him and said, my lord, why can’t you talk to us, talk to the public? You know what he told name, I cannot discuss my spiritual life on the pages of newspaper, I was shocked. I thought he was joking and he maintained it, people kept writing and talking nonsense of what they don’t know about, and the man kept quiet in following the whole thing. He was a floating Bishop, he was a bishop but without territory. I don’t know how they made the arrangement, he was accommodated by Bishop Paulinus Chukwuemeka Ezeokafor of Awka Diocese. On one or two occasions when I went to see Bishop Ezeokafor, he said, Okpaleke is there. He was in his office, alone, meditating. When I came in, he didn’t even know when I came in, he was in serious meditation, before he could recollect himself, it took some times. And I now asked him, my lord, what is happening, he said, I have told you several times, I don’t discuss my spiritual life on the pages of newspaper, allow God to do what he knows best to do. I didn’t choose myself to be a priest, I didn’t choose myself to a bishop, God called me to be and I must follow him to the last. Then I left.
After about six or seven years, he resigned as the Bishop of Ahiara Diocese, and moving on. Surprisingly Ekwulobia Diocese was carved out of Awka Diocese, and the Pope, Pope Francis in his judgement, in his magnanimity, found him worthy to be the first Bishop of Ekwulobia Diocese. Then I wrote, I granted interviews, and I told the world that the rejected stone has become the pillar of the house. That is humility; that is God in action, and we started rejoicing. I called him and said my lord, it appears that your stand and your style of life is paying off. He said keep on praying for me. We were still thinking whether that news was correct or not, all the bishops gathered and the Papa-nuncio, all of them gathered and installed him the bishop of Ekwulobia. Since then he has been carrying on the work, go to Ekwulobia, go to St. Joseph Cathedral Ekwulobia and see work going on there. People are supporting him massively, prayer, there is no money but God is helping him. And in doing that work, he brought innovation. It is not a question of staying on queue for so many hours, or so many days before you can see the bishop, no, you just click on the website and know the day and time that is free and you click on that, and that time you must see him. So Bishop Okpaleke is humility personified, intelligence personified, Christianity personified, academic personified, and above all, a special child of God and a special project of God.
Being a Cardinal is a promotion, and promotion is another word for more work, what do you think people expect from him as a cardinal?
First of all, his ascendency to the rank of a cardinal is a blessing to Nigeria. First it has gone further to project the image of Nigeria, it has gone further to cleanse certain things foreigners think about us, it has gone further to say that credible people are in this country and in a most special way, it has projected the image of Catholic Church in Nigeria. At the interior town of Amesi in Aguata Local Government of Anambra State, he was picked, that speaks volume of this country, and I urge Nigerians to pray for him, to support him and give him an idea on what to do. Nobody is Mr. knows all, he equally used to say that. So all of us should rally round him. Now, he has two major responsibilities: The young diocese in his hand, and the new position as a cardinal. These are two enormous responsibilities he is carrying. It is not a question of dancing, dancing on the gallery, playing, our bishop has returned; our cardinal has returned, they are good, but the most important thing he needs now is prayer, moral support because Satan is not happy. You will see a lot of things now coming, but with prayer, he can overcome these things. Then financial support, the much you can because he cannot run the diocese with empty hand, he cannot use his urine to run the diocese.
Then the position of cardinal is another responsibility that requires fund and all that, even though I don’t know the structure, but you cannot be a cardinal and other bishops within your domain have problem and you cannot solve it, and you know, this one is a young bishop, there are other bishops there, above him in age and years of experience, but the catholic church has a way they do their own things and there is no rancor. I watched the consistory as they call it in Rome, I watched the occasion where he was installed as cardinal; you see almost all the Nigerian bishops older than him; that is unity of purpose. They did not say O this young man, I became bishop before him. No, all of them were there, and I must commend the Archbishop of Onitsha, Valerian Maduka Okeke, I must commend my good friend and elder brother, a perfect gentleman, Bishop Paulinus of Awka Diocese, the man with a large heart, he has done a lot of things, and I viewed him in Rome, all of them and all other bishops, and above all, I must commend the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Soludo and his wife, and all other Nigerians who trooped in there to give him solidarity. So I urge him to remain steadfast, I urge him to run inclusive government because politics is everywhere, even in your family there is politics. You will see people going to him, saying one thing and another, but I know him, after talking, you will see him, he will do the right thing. And with this rank, Ekwulobia Diocese will have a new look, Ekwulobia Catholic faithful will be energized, and all other Christians, the whole Christendom, all the religious sects, their morale will be boosted by the presence of Cardinal Okpaleke in Ekwulobia Diocese, and I promise him, we will do our best from our different parishes, different homes, in one way or the other, to support him and encourage him.
You know there is a way religion and politics are interwoven, is there any role his new position as cardinal will enable him to play, at least speaking truth to power in the present political dispensation?
Yes, in as much as the role of the cardinal is to win souls for God, but, you see, in winning souls for heaven one must look at the social indices, societal problems and marry them with the words of God. Like you have said, politics and church are interwoven, one way or the other; with his position, I believe and I know him, he will be able to talk directly to the president. I cannot imagine that he would request for the president and it would be turned down, I cannot imagine that he would request to see any governor and that request would be turned down, so it is a vantage position to tell them the truth without tribal sentiment, religious sentiment, tell them the truth and nothing but the truth. I know him, he will do that and I urge him to do so.
