Victor EzejaThe Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha has denounced one Rev. Fr. Magnus Ebere, saying he is not a priest of the diocese but has been illegally operating a ministry and ‘deceiving’ people.
The Archdiocesan Secretariat publicly warned and issued quite notice to the ‘intruding’ radical priest in a statement personally signed by the Archbishop, Most Rev. Dr. Valerian Maduka Okeke, saying that the priest “has no faculties or rights to operate within the Archdiocese of Onitsha.”
Fr. Magnus, who belongs to a religious congregation called Society of Divine Vocations (SDV), has his ministry called Canaanland Adoration Ministries, AKA E-day Work Ministry, at Nnobi in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Onitsha Archdiocese.
He was reportedly banned in Ahiara Diocese in Imo State in 2019 where he first established his ministry.
Father Ebere later started a branch in Nnobi in Anambra State. Both ministries were reportedly begun without the approval of the two dioceses.
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Archbishop Okeke said: “The granting of faculties is a serious matter in the Catholic Church because it is the means through which the Church determines the authenticity and suitability of a particular priest to function in the name and power of the Church.”
He said Fr. Ebere came into the town and started operating without the knowledge and approval of the Diocese, coupled with the fact that he has no faculty for such apostolic activities.
“We have repeatedly warned the faithful of our Archdiocese about the dangers most of his activities and teachings pose to their faith,” the Archbishop added.
He condemned a statement credited to Fr. Ebere concerning a Catholic priest working in the Archdiocese of Lagos who was given a leave of absence over his unjustified outburst and accusation that Igbo people want to dominate others.
The Most Rev. Dr. Okeke said that Fr. Ebere in the video that has gone viral, made “unchristian” comments by saying that ”Igbo people are for dominion anywhere they are.”
He emphatically stated that what Fr. Ebere said concerning the Lagos Diocesan priest and the incident was not the position of the Catholic Church in Igboland, noting that the Church is not a tribal organisation.
“While reacting to the viral video of the Lagos incident during one of his illegal activities at Nnobi, Rev. Fr. Magnus Ebere worsened and aggravated the matter by ignorantly confirming the accusation the suspended priest leveled against the Igbos. In his video, which has now gone viral, Fr. Magnus Ebere made many unchristian statements which need to be publicly condemned.
“We, therefore, totally condemn and repudiate such unwarranted utterances like ‘Igbos are Igbos, anywhere we are, we are for dominion’, ‘if you remove Igbos in the Catholic Church in Lagos, there will be no Church there,’ etc.
“This is not the position of the Catholic Church in Igboland. Please note that Fr. Magnus Ebere is neither speaking for the Catholic Church nor for the Igbos. His utterances can best be described as an outburst from a psychotic priest who needs psychological help from his religious Congregation. The Catholic Church is not a tribal institution and should not be made to look as such.”
The Archbishop further reiterated the church’s earlier advice to Catholics in the Archdiocese to stop attending the ministry, stating that the priest’s teachings were deceitful and dangerous to their faith, while also warning the priest to stop all his ministries at Nnobi which he has been operating without faculties.
“We, once again, warn the faithful of our Archdiocese that the activities and teachings of Fr. Magnus Ebere are dangerous, deceitful and inimical to their faith. Anyone who participates in his illegal activities at Nnobi does so at his or her risk. Any Catholic who accepts his erroneous teachings is operating outside the traditional and authentic teachings of the Catholic Church.
“We also publicly warn Fr. Magnus Ebere to immediately stop all his illegal ministries at Nnobi. If he is truly a Catholic priest, which he claims to be, he needs faculties from the Diocesan Bishop in order to carry out any form of ministry in Onitsha Archdiocese. No such faculties have been given to him neither in the past nor present,” Archbishop Okeke stated.
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