*Advises Fr. Obayi not to leave Catholic Church
Controversial Catholic Priest and Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria (AMEN), Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, has reacted to the on’going crisis rocking the Nsukka Catholic Diocese, with a strong warning to those allegedly plotting to shut down the Okunerere Prayer Ministry to desist forthwith or be ready to face dire consequences.
Describing Fr. Obayi as a soul-winner performing his Divine assignment, Mbaka said having done so well in winning souls for God, he (Obayi) should not be messed up.
The face-off between the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diacoses, Most Rev Godfrey Onah and his priest, Rev. Fr. Paul Obayi, (Okunerere), which has been made public last week, has brought serious division in the Church.
Obayi, the Spiritual Director of the Okunerere Adoration Ministry, Nsukka, who runs a similar prayer ministry like Mbaka, had raised the alarm that the church authorities in the Diocese was oppressing him.
He alleged that he gave everything to the church, yet the church wanted to strangle him.
His outcry has remained subject of controversy on social media, with people taking various positions.
Speaking on the development, Fr. Mbaka warned those oppressing Obayi to desist from what he termed ‘sin against the Holy Spirit’.
Mbaka claimed that his fellow priests always abandoned him whenever he faced similar oppression, noting that he would always stand out.
He demanded that Obayi should be shielded from what he described as ”attacks and forces of darkness, whims and caprices of hawks, vultures and serpents”.
Mbaka said: ”When you have not verified what a man of God is doing, you begin to blackmail and misinterpret it.
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Has anyone given you people an assignment? Know when you have crossed the boundary. Are you God? Why are you an impostor?’
“If you people shut down Okunerere adoration ministry, the demons he cast will follow you people. I want the world to hear this voice. These are the children given to me; I am their senior brother.
”We need more soul-winners like Father Okunerere. You beat a child and asked him not to cry. Who are you? God ordained all that you are. And if you take the authority God gave you to oppress his messenger, heaven will take away what it has bestowed on you. You better repent”.
Mbaka lamented that many other priests were in anguish and bleeding over the treatment meted out on them by church leaders.
He said many left the seminary burning for God, but the fire was always regrettably extinguished once they were ordained priests.
He declared: ”I am talking to Nsukka people. I am not talking to any individual. Nsukka, as a people, if you keep quiet and Father Obayi is nowhere to be found, before such a good thing like him comes to you people, those who will die because of it would be many. I know that what I have spoken will raise so much dust.
”Father Obayi may not be the best, but he’s good. He has done so well in winning souls to God. He should not be messed up. Those who should shield this young man from attacks and forces of darkness should not pass him to the whims and caprices of hawks, vultures and serpents.
”Father Obayi should not be exposed to predators. The chief shepherd of that diocese should protect that young man.
“Obayi should not be compensated with sorrow and should not be handed over a dead child.
”But I will warn my brother priest not to be tempted into leaving the priesthood. Let him be courageous, let him be steadfast, let him be resolute. His labours will never be in vain.
“I have been trying to get him through the phone, but I have not. I saw the thing on social media, so I am replying through social media. Jesus in the Eucharist is the one you should look to. He will keep you, Father. He will shield you from the valleys of shadows of death. He will preserve you”.
