SaharaReporters earlier reported that the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev Callistus Onaga last week issued a pastoral injunction banning the Catholic faithful from visiting the ministry in the wake of Fr Mbaka's comments against the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi.
The fiery Enugu Catholic priest, Rev Father Ejike Mbaka reportedly returned to the Adoration Ministry Enugu, Nigeria (AMEN) on Wednesday, to address his followers who continued to flock adoration ground despite restrictions imposed on all activities there.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev Callistus Onaga last week issued a pastoral injunction banning the Catholic faithful from visiting the ministry in the wake of Fr Mbaka's comments against the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi.
Mbaka had during one of his midweek prayers called Obi a 'stingy man' who is never going to be a Nigerian President, adding that he is 'cursed'.
The Church, however, distanced itself from the outburst, saying Mbaka's attack on Obi breached canon 220 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law which prohibits anyone from illegitimately harming the good name of another person.
Subsequently, Bishop Onaga banned all activities in the ministry "until the due canonical process initiated by the is concluded".
SaharaReporters has also previously reported that less than 24 hours after the ban, Mbaka's followers thronged the Adoration Ground in deviance to the bishop’s injunction and protested, calling for his removal. They also called him unprintable names.
However, a video posted on Adoration Ministry’s official Facebook page on Wednesday seen by SaharaReporters, shows Mbaka arriving at the Adoration ground at Emene to address the crowd.
Thousands of the Adoration faithful have continued to converge on the ground on a daily basis since it was shut down.
His speech evoked emotions as he reminded them that the closure of the Adoration was still in force, bringing tears to the eyes of some of the faithful.
Mbaka said: “I’m a priest of the Catholic Church and the Bishop is my father; I swore an oath to obey him and his successors. I cannot do otherwise.”
He appealed to them to henceforth, stop castigating the Bishop or Enugu Catholic Church but to pray and bless them. He also urged them to continue praying for Peter Obi because he’s one of them, their brother and friend.
“I have come to bless you and to dismiss you, I don’t want you to go to the main road. I don’t want you to be pugnacious or to be cantankerous. I don’t want the adorers to be violent. I don’t want Adoration people to be classified as bandits for we’re not bandits. We’re obedient children of God, we love the mother church and the mother Church loves us so much.
“We appreciate our Bishop and henceforth, I want to order everybody here to stop insulting the Bishop. We can’t forget all his goodness to us.
“…this is a time we show our Bishop love, speak good of him, don’t write anything negative of him. To insult the Bishop is to insult me directly.”
The Adoration members couldn’t control their tears when Mbaka said, “I will never come out here for Mass until the Bishop approves it.”
When they asked him why, he replied, “Don’t ask me why because I’m a Catholic priest, I have to obey."
They asked their spiritual director to give them a date that they would resume their activities and Mbaka answered, “I’m not the Bishop to give date, we are pleading and that’s why you have to pray that he gives us date. I have come to disperse you to go in peace, at least you have seen me.”
The cries rent the air as some of them could be heard shouting, “Bishop, have mercy on us and give us a date (to reopen adoration ministry)!” “We can’t do without adoration oh!” “Tamper justice with mercy! Bishop, we’re pleading!”