The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Adewale Martins has suspended Rev. Fr. James Anelu, the parish priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Ewu-Owa Gberigbe in Ikorodu, for banning Igbo songs and choruses in his parish.
It was gathered that Fr. Anelu had in a bizarre pronouncement, banned Igbo songs and choruses in his parish, arguing that the excesses of Ndigbo must be contained.
The priest was said to have angrily stopped a soul lifting chorus during the second collection, noting that Igbos cannot keep dominating other people even in his Church.
He reportedly cited the case of his Benin Diocese where Igbos dominate to the point of becoming the Bishop, allegedly claiming that the spirit of God recognises only geographical languages of the parish.
This ignoble utterance by a supposed ordained priest didn’t sit down well with the parishioners who went up in tumultuous uproar, staging a massive walk out of the mass.
In a letter of disclaimer dated February 7, 2022, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Martins directed the priest to proceed on “an indefinite leave of absence”.
The latter reads, “It has been brought to our notice that Rev Fr James Anelu, the priest-in-charge of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Ewu-Owa, Ikorodu, made some completely unacceptable comments about Igbo songs being sung in the Church and unsavoury remarks that do not represent the Catholic church’s position on the common brotherhood of peoples of all tribes and religions.
“For this reason, he has been asked to proceed on an indefinite leave of absence to give an opportunity for a thorough investigation of all the matters relating to his ministry on the parish. The leave of absence takes effect from Tuesday, February 8, 2021, till further notice
“We, therefore, urge all Catholic faithful to hold on to the faith and continue in worship of God as one big family united and not separated by language, culture, or race.”
