Lagos — Celibacy, an issue which has divided the Catholic Church in recent years, is causing ripples in Nigeria

Can a Catholic Priest have sex and father his own children? It is an issue that has always created a big crisis in Catholicism. Now, in Ondo and Ekiti states, it is pitting one Catholic priest against another and making the Laity prepare for rebellion.

The crisis arose over the reinstatement of Reverend Father Rufus Pariola of Ekiti Diocese by the Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Bishop Francis Folorunso Alonge. Pariola was suspended early this year by Alonge's counterpart in Ekiti, Bishop Michael Olatunji Fagun over issues bordering on the priest's moral conduct. He was said to have violated one of the three vows-obedience, poverty and chastity-held sacrosanct by Catholic priests at the point of ordination. Rev. Fr. Pariola was particularly alleged to be weak in matters of the flesh. Three different women from where he was parish priest were said to have alleged that the revered Catholic priest was the father of their children. One of the children was said to be about 19 years old.

TheNEWS investigation revealed that as a result of this scandalous allegation, Bishop Fagun, set up a panel to look into the matter. In the course of the panel's investigation, it was discovered that the Reverend Father who is supposed to live a celibate life, was indeed found guilty of having carnal knowledge of the women some years ago. To authenticate their findings, grown up kids who are the products of the romance were paraded during the trial. Consequently, the priest was suspended.

However, no sooner was Father Pariola suspended than Alonge in Ondo diocese, an Ekiti man like Father Pariola, absolved him in Ondo diocese. Not a few people, including Fagun, saw the action as a slap from a colleague. The question on the lips of members and keen watchers of the development is: did Bishop Alonge reverse the judgement of his colleague for miscarriage of justice? The question becomes pertinent considering the hard stance Bishop Alonge took in the past especially at his assumption of office in 1976 against indisciplined priests in his diocese. Among those that were sent packing then were the first indigenous priest from Ondo who is now a retired professor of University of Jos and also the first priest of the diocese who died a few years ago.

Alonge's diocese is adjudged one of the best in the country in terms of discipline. This legacy is, however, being called to question in the light of recent happenings in the diocese. To many faithful, Pariola's case is just one of the series of allegations levelled against Alonge. In fact, he was accused of double-standard and nepotism for refusing to take back other old priests who fell short of their vows despite their repentance and age. The case of Alonge's sister who allegedly messed up her marriage only to be given a diocesan funeral while such privilege was denied others, was equally cited. His action, a source confided in this magazine, is sending a demoralising signal to many priests in the area. Dissatisfied with the way things are being handled in the diocese, some laity are said to be planning a public protest against the Bishop on an undisclosed date.

When TheNEWS sought the response of the Bishop on the allegations, the diocesan secretary, Rev. Fr. Taye Oludare, said he was out of town. Ebony black Oludare told this magazine in his Akure office that priests need God's grace and people's prayers to continue to keep their vows.

According to him, all the noise about Fr. Pariola's case are out of ignorance. "You see, what they don't know is that before the Bishop could take such an action, he must have contacted his counterpart in Ekiti. At any rate, Pariola is still with Ekiti diocese. He's just here for a while," Oludare informed. He also shed more light on the Bishop's late sister. "The woman reconciled with God before her death. She was being given sacrament on her sick bed. Her case is different from somebody that died suddenly. She reconciled before her death. Bishop Alonge is upright, so all the talks about nepotism or tribalism are nonsense."

TheNEWS visited Bishop Fagun's residence at Ado-Ekiti, where he was said to be observing a siesta. Repeated calls by this magazine yielded no results. However, a source close to the diocese said Alonge's action did not go down well with his Ekiti counterpart. There is an uneasy calm in the two dioceses. The crisis if not properly managed, has the potential of destroying the legacy of the church due mainly to its monolithic nature.

Beyond the current crisis, the issue of celibacy among Catholic bishops has become a worldwide problem over the years. While the younger priests call for a lifting of the ban on marriage, the older priests for whom it is already too late to get married or rear children, are insisting on celibacy. The only new dimension, perhaps, is that as an old priest, Pariola has, willy-nilly, joined the new generation in asking for a scrapping of celibacy which has no foundation in the Bible.