The Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev Callistus Onaga, on Thursday, called for prayers of atonement over the attack on his residence and the Holy Ghost Cathedral, Enugu by the followers of Rev Father Ejike Mbaka.
Followers of Mbaka, a controversial Catholic priest, had attacked the Bishop’s residence and the Cathedral over rumours of his disappearance made the round about 24 hours after the Bishop invited him to a meeting.
Bishop Onaga, who described the attacks on his house and Holy Ghost Cathedral by supporters of Mbaka as sacrilegious, said by the attack, the holy altar of sacrifice had been desecrated.
Onaga, in a statement he personally signed, called on all parishes, chaplaincies and religious houses in the Catholic Diocese of Enugu to embark on the prayer.
The statement reads partly: “On 5 May 2021, the followers of Fr. Camillus Mbaka of the Adoration Ministry Enugu, Nigeria, violently broke into the diocesan cathedral church and desecrated the holy altar of sacrifice. Over and above this, they brutally vandalised the diocesan bishop’s residence, the cathedral parish house and the secretariat building complex.
“Therefore, I hereby declare and call for a one week union of prayer in atonement for this heinous act against our central place of worship and the sanctity of the Church. The prayer begins from Friday, 7th May to Friday, 14th May 2021. Every parish, chaplaincy and religious community in the diocese is obliged to participate in this holy activity.”
