He spoke yesterday
at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria, Pro-Cathedral, Garki, Abuja, during the
30th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service of John Cardinal Onaiyekan’s,
Episcopal ordination as a Bishop and appointment to the College of
Cardinals.
Said the President,
"We all know no religion preaches or encourages violence and hate. Both
major religions in this our land preach brotherhood, love and peaceful
co-existence. This is their foundation and of course, the motivation for
us as Christians.
"Those who do
otherwise, as His Grace also said, I cannot be a person who will worship
the God that will encourage the people to kill people he himself
created. We believe that God created all of us and anybody who uses
weapons to kill the very one created by God cannot be worshipping God,"
he told the congregation.
According to the
President, the church also has the same responsibility like the
political actors, adding that they are at the centre of
society-building.
He spoke further,
"the church, the government, the political actors have the same
responsibility. For us, we believe that the church is at the centre of
society-building, because, some of the challenges we face today is
because of the kind of characters traits our people have. If the church
moulds us, moulds the people, and society moulds its children, then
Nigeria will surely be a better place".
The president also
seized the occasion to appreciate efforts of the church at promoting
inter-religious dialogue in the country. He recalled that in March 2012,
the Pope sent a Cardinal in charge of inter-faith dialogue at the
Vatican to Nigeria for inter-face in inter-religious cooperations.
``There is no doubt
that immense progresses have been made in this critical area and I am
grateful for all the work that had been done by the church.”
Jonathan noted that
the appointment of Onaiyekan to the position of cardinal was a clear
recognition by the Vatican of the immense contributions of the church in
Nigeria to the worldwide catholic movement.
``I see in his
appointment as a recognition for those who work and toil for peace,
bringing hope to their people and building bridges for reconciliation
among men. I also see it as a great privilege to our country at this
time, and in particular to me, since I am serving as the president
now.’’
He described the
cleric as ``a simple, humble and totally unassuming man yet a man of
great distinction, learning and knowledge who always sees himself as a
citizen and of course a messenger and servant of God”. Jonathan noted
that the smooth progression of the cleric in the church hierarchy stood
him out as a man of great piety and intellectual strength.
The president
expressed the hope ``that one day, and I pray it will not be too long,
we will also celebrate a Papal Father from Nigeria’’. Earlier, in a
sermon, Onaiyekan said the circumstances of the birth of Jesus Christ, a
ruler of justice and peace, should be a great lesson for the country,
particularly in the area of religion.
The sermon was
centred on the story of Epiphany and circumstances of the birth of Jesus
Christ, ``the infant king of Bethlehem’’. Onaiyekan noted that a true
religion ``must be open to all, embrace peace and devoid of blood
shedding.
That Nigeria is
deeply religious is a precious asset. ``It is, however, sad that our
image abroad is tainted with fanatism, religious intolerance, killing
and shedding of blood. We must not allow this to continue. We have to
strive to live in peace in our nation with our differences of tribe,
culture, tradition, language and religion.
``We must see the
image of God in everybody around us and apply the golden rule that we
should do to others only what we can do to ourselves,’’ the cardinal
said. He said that the congratulatory messages he had received since his
appointment cut across religion, tribe, business and politics.
He said the
thanksgiving service was in commemoration of his 30 years of ordination
as a Bishop and his appointment into the College of Cardinals by Pope
Benedict the XVI. He recalled that on Jan. 6, 1983, he was ordained
Bishop by Pope John Paul II at St. Peters’ Basilica in Rome.
Onaiyekan said 14 of
them were ordained on the fateful day among which were two Nigerians
and four Archbishops. The cleric also noted that the date Jan. 6 was
significant in his life as remarkable things in his life had fallen on
that date.
According to him, he
was ordained a Deacon on Jan. 6, 1969; Bishop on Jan. 6, 1983; took
over as Bishop of Ilorin Diocese Jan. 6, 1985, Bishop of Abuja Diocese
on Jan. 6, 1992 and the thanksgiving on his elevation to Cardinal on
Jan. 6, 2013.
The Senate
President, Sen. David Mark, in a goodwill message said the church in the
country was faced with many challenges brought about by few disgruntled
elements.
He, however, said
the challenges could be addressed with the prayers, understanding and
unity in the church. Mark thanked the president for sending him as head
of the Federal Government's delegation to the Vatican for the
consecration of Onaiyekan.
The Deputy Governor
of Kogi, Chief Yomi Awoniyi, who represented Gov. Idris Wada at the
service, said the occasion was a moment of pride for the government and
people of the state.
He said Onaiyekan,
who hailed from the state, rose from a humble beginning to the peak of
his Episcopal career. The Coordinator of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council
(NIREC), Prof Ishaq Oloyede, who represented the Sultan of Sokoto,
Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar at the service, underscored the need for religious
tolerance and cooperation among various religions.
He described
Onaiyekan as a ``genuine man of God, academician per excellence,
promoter of peace and a pride to the nation and Africa’’.
Born on Jan. 29,
1944 in Kabba, Kogi, Onaiyekan attended St. Michael Secondary School,
Aliade, Benue, and later enrolled at the Major seminary of St. Peter and
Paul, Ibadan, Oyo State, and ordained Priest on Aug. 3, 1959.
He was consecrated
into the prestigious College of Cardinals on Nov. 24, 2012 in Rome and
along with five other cardinals from the US, Lebanon, Colombia and
Philippine. Onaiyekan is the fourth Nigerian Catholic priest to be
appointed a cardinal.
Those that preceded him are late Dominic Ekandem, Francis Arinze and Olubunmi Okogie.
Cardinals are the
Pope"s closest aides in the Vatican, running in key departments around
the world where they head dioceses to oversee the more than 1.2 billion
members of the Roman Catholic Church.
Onaiyekan was the
immediate past President of the Christian Association of Nigeria and
former President of English Speaking Bishops in Africa, among others.
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