Sierra Leone: Makeni Roman Catholic Priests Banned In Bo

Opinion

By Emmanuel A.B. Turay, Makeni.

The Bishop of Bo Diocese, Rev. Fr. Charles Campbell has decreed all priests and religious from the Dioceses of Makeni not to be allowed to preside or preach in any parish with the dioceses in a communiqué sent to all the parishes.

According to Bishop Charles Campbell in his decree, Makeni diocese is not in communion with Rome.

If this communiqué signed by Bishop Campbell sent to be announced in all the parishes in Bo is anything to go by, then I wonder what direction the Catholic Church in Sierra Leone is heading to.

After going through all the literal definitions of the word ‘communion’ for which you stand for in the decree issued, I see that the diocese of Makeni does not fall short in anyway but rather you (Bishop Campell) who has failed to share the thoughts and feelings of the lay faithful and priests in Makeni.

This decision has been taken towards the dying moment when the ninety days of the installation of the Bishop Elect of Makeni Diocese is fading out gradually. It seems as if dialogue in any form has failed and now unwise decisions are overtaken faith and belief.

The first recommendation by Fr. Alphonso Carew was to excommunicate his colleague priests, religious and lay faithful in the diocese of Makeni. This time a very senior authority in the Bishop’s conference in Sierra Leone has banned local priests from the diocese in Bo. With due regards to my spiritual leader, Bishop Campbell for whom I had much respect, from all indications has proved himself worthy of my expectation. Allow me to analyze this evil blunder.

Firstly, you have shown yourself (Bishop Campbell) clearly to Sierra Leoneans and the Catholic community as a whole that you do not recognize the appointment of the Apostolic Administrator of Makeni Diocese, Fr. Natalio Panganeli by Rome; this is why you claim that the diocese is not in communion with Rome.

You even forgot that the Apostolic Administrator of Makeni Diocese Fr. Natalio was present during your just concluded Bishop’s conference to represent the diocese and you acknowledged his presence and also learnt a lot from his meaningful contribution geared towards moving the church forward in this part of Africa.

Bishop Campbell, you are making a sad mistake by taking such un-canonical decisions manufactured by flesh on fellow shepherds in His Vine yard. By the way are you going to recall your priests from Makeni too? Are you going to all ban the lay faithful from the diocese of Makeni from entering your Bo parishes? Bishop I think something is wrong somewhere.

I want to personally say from my view that the priests and religious have nothing to lose by the way following your decree to ban them in Bo but you are just adding salt to your own wound. Such statement by a very respected clergy of your type is inciting and will lead to something you may not be able to handle.

This same diocese of Makeni you claim not in communion with Rome will host the Arch-Bishop His Grace, the Rt. Rev. Edward Tamba Charles before Easter for the Blessing of the oils. So are you also not contradicting yourself? I think a respectable clergy like you should concentrate on reconciliation and try to make amends of your selfish imposition strategy. Sorry, but you are not helping the situation at all.

Since the appointment of the Bishop elect of Makeni Diocese late November last year, the lay faithful and their priests and religious made their position quite clear to the outgone Apostolic Nuncio Anthony Sammy and the Conference of Bishops in Sierra Leone that they are not disobeying Rome but they disagree with your procedure of failing to understand the cultural, social, political and geographical sensitivity of this issue. You made several attempts to impose a Bishop from your side and you saw the resistance. Why are you not trying to seek out ways in bringing the people together, rather you preferring a ban on their clergy?

Bishop Campbell, it’s better to swallow the bitter pill now and immediately withdraw this ungodly decree of yours as it has no canonical justification whatsoever.

Can you explain to the people of Sierra Leone why the Nuncio was withdrawn and demoted to serve as an Archbishop in India? He should have been promoted to a Cardinal but because you (Bishops Conference in Sierra Leone) contributed to his demotion.

1 Corinthians 11:28 says: "Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup." I want to use this passage to interpret what communion means to me; Communion is a time to examine ourselves and the work of Christ in our life. Before we take of the bread and wine we are told to examine ourselves. Communion should be a time of spiritual reflection and soul searching. Allow the Holy Spirit to take away all those hindrances and obstacles you have placed in God’s way throughout the week. Allow Jesus to minister his cleansing and healing to your spirit. Allow God to transform your thoughts, your emotions, your desires, and your actions. Let us examine ourselves and be willing to receive from God what he has for us each Sunday morning.

This message is one of hope and comfort, but it is also one of warning. Paul directs our attention to the body and asks us to examine ourselves. Are we communing as a body? Right relationships within the body are essential. Jesus taught that this aspect of church life is to take precedence over worship (cf. Matt. 5:23,24).

Communion is not an individualistic matter; it is a body matter. We commune as a body; we come to the Lord’s table as a family. This truth is bound up in the biblical symbol of the one loaf and the one cup. "Because there is one loaf," Paul writes, "we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf" (1 Cor. 10:17, NIV).

The next time your church celebrates communion, take a look around the room and consider the brothers and sisters with whom you are communing. Evaluate your relationships with them. Do you despise the church of God? Consider how to put an end to unresolved conflicts. Do you recognize the body of the Lord? If so, commune with thanksgiving. Are you struggling with sin? Drink deeply of the cup of forgiveness, and thank God that Christ is coming soon to usher us in to the banquet hall where we shall celebrate with all the saints in the body.

This is indeed a long struggle for the Catholic Church in Makeni but I believe there is light at the end of the tunnel and we shall see and embrace ourselves again as brothers and sisters.