The Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry in Enugu, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, may be banned from preaching in Catholic Church.
The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Adewale Martins, who disclosed this during an interview with the BBC Igbo, said this could happen if the priest continues to deviate from the doctrines and tenets of the Catholic Church.
Fr. Martins was reacting to Mbaka’s New Year evening prophecy that Emeka Ihedioha would be booted out of Imo government house and Hope Uzodinma would replace him.
KanyiDaily recalls that the prophecy came to pass on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, when the Supreme Court sacked Ihedioha and named Uzodinma as the duly elected Imo governor.
Reacting to the controversial prophecy, which has stirred heated debate across Nigeria, the archbishop said if Mbaka continued in the manner he was doing things, the Catholic Church may bar him from ministering. Martins said:
“Fr. Mbaka falls under the authority of the Bishop of Enugu Diocese and therefore he has the responsibility of cautioning him. I can imagine that this must be giving the bishop some challenges.
“It must be giving him a bit of a headache and I feel sorry for him and I hope he will find some way of dealing with this matter that has been recurring. Of course, what could be done in the end is either to say, ok you receive the sanction of being stopped from public ministry. That is a possibility. If it is not done, there must be a reason.”
Martins, who was ordained a priest in 1983, said the Catholic Church does not engage in partisan politics.
He said even if Mbaka received a prophecy from God, he ought to ensure that his conduct corresponds with the scriptures and the doctrine of the Catholic Church. The archbishop added:
“It is utterly surprising that Fr Mbaka would go as far as naming one person as governor against another. It is embarrassing when you hear of priests or people in position of authority making statements that are clearly partisan.
“The position of the Catholic Church on matters that have to do with politics is not to be partisan. Of course, we as a church cannot be oblivious to political events and happenings in the country or the world at large and therefore we must speak from the point of view of principles.
“The priest who believes he has a gift of prophecy has to test whatever has been told to him in the light of the scriptures, in the light of the teachings of the church and in terms of the authority that has been given to leaders in the church.”
Martins said Mbaka’s behaviour was at variance with the teachings of the Catholic Church and he had fallen below the standard expected of priests.
Meanwhile, Mbaka, who was ordained a Catholic priest in 1995, had reacted saying his prophecy regarding the Imo governorship, has proven that he is truly a man of God.
Mbaka who spoke through his spokesman, Maximus Oguoke, boasted that none of his prophecies has come back to him void.
He said people should learn to fear God and respect His anointed whenever he says: “Thus says the Lord”.
