BEVERLY HILLS, February 15, (THEWILL) – The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, has warned Catholic priests against turning Christianity into showbiz through “market place prophecies and visions, charismatic display of talents and material salvation”.
President of the conference, Most Rev’d Ignatius Kaigama handed this warning on Sunday during the Catholic Bishops’ Conference at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral in Abuja.
He enjoined the priests to shun worldliness and materialism, charging them not to succumb to the temptation of importing unwanted doctrines meant to promote personality and curry favour.
According to him, “We must not be frightened into believing in God of ‘now, now’, cajoled by mouth watering material attractions or ostentatious living of some ministers of God.
“We should emphasise the need for sober Christianity without tricks, rhetoric, fanfare and the craze for social media publicity.
“All priests must not compete with trendy pastors to see visions and utter prophecies because they sometimes cause psychological disposition.
“We should help people to interior conversion and attitudinal change.”
The Bishop further noted that rather than wooing people with material things or any form of moral coercion, Christian religious leaders should admonish Christians to pray ceaselessly and evangelize through genuine witnessing.
His words, “We must avoid melo-dramatic displays that look like modern broad-way shows.
“Catholic priests should avoid flamboyant spirituality and noisy liturgy and teach the people values of internalised prayers from the heart.
“The gifts of speaking in tongues, miracle and prophecies are good as long as they are genuine.”
Kaigama further urged Christians to help humanity in love to conquer poverty and narrow the yawning gap between the rich and the poor, stressing that “It is only when we engage in works of mercy in favour of the needy that we can hope for a stable, peaceful and safe world.”
