The Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos has suspended the priest in charge of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Ewu- Owa, Rev. Fr James Anelu for banning Igbo songs and choruses in the parish.
In a disclaimer, The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Martins in a disclaimer on Monday, directed Rev. Fr. Anelu to proceed on “an indefinite leave of absence from Tuesday, 8th February, 2022.
TheFact Nigeria gathered that the priest had angrily stopped a soul lifting chorus during the second collection. He said the Igbos cannot keep dominating other people even in his Church.
Anelu cited the case of his Benin Diocese where Igbos dominate to the point of becoming the Bishop in person of Akubueze.
He reportedly claimed that the spirit of God recognises only the geographical languages of the parish.
However, the Archbishop of Lagos said the unsavory remarks by the priest did not represent the Catholic Church’s position on common brotherhood of peoples of all tribes and religions.
“For this reason, he has been asked to proceed on an indefinite leave of absence to give an opportunity for a thorough investigation of all the matters relating to his ministry in the parish.
“The leave of absence takes effect from Tuesday, 8th February, 2022 till further notice,” the document read.
“We therefore urge all Catholic faithful to hold on to the faith and continue in our worship of God as one big family united in love and not separated by language, culture or race.” he said.
