Abuja, 24 June, 2024 / 8:47 pm (ACI Africa).
John Cardinal Onaiyekan has encouraged Catholic Church leaders in the West African nation of Nigeria to speak out against injustices in the country.
In a report following the inauguration of the Catholic Social Teaching (CST) program at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) headquartered in the country’s Catholic Archdiocese Abuja, Cardinal Onaiyekan is quoted as saying, “We cannot afford to remain silent in the face of injustice.”
“Silence is complicity, and we must speak out against injustice wherever we see it,” the Archbishop emeritus of Nigeria’s Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja is quoted as saying in the report published Monday, June 24.
He adds, “As Catholic Bishops, we are often interviewed and make powerful political statements. Nobody can stop us from doing that because it is part of our job. We have a responsibility to teach the right things, even if it means facing criticism from politicians.”
Whenever Catholic Church leaders are vocal over societal issues, the Nigerian Cardinal said, “politicians hail us; but when we criticize them and warn them that they are not doing well, they get angry with us, accusing us of dabbling in politics. But politics is not for politicians alone; it’s for everyone.”
