Lagos — Catholic Social Forum of Nigeria (CSFN) has expressed concern over the silence of the Catholic Church in Nigeria, especially on burning national issues saying members should live up to expectation if they are to be taken serious in their defense of the common man.

Chairman of the forum in St. Matthew's Catholic Church, Amukoko, Lagos, Mr. Linus Okoroji, raised the alarm during the inauguration of the CSFN in the parish.

He saluted the vision of the Catholic Bishops Conference for Commissioning the laity with the specific role of making the church and her social teachings present in the market place in Nigeria.

"This, in my view, is a great call to duty and responsibility and a challenge to defend our faith. It is not enough for us to continue to complain and bemoan the ugly state of social, economic and political affairs in our country and do nothing about it.

Majority of us just resign to fate, always hiding under the illusion that politics is dirty. The truth is that heaven helps those who help themselves," Okoroji, stated.

He charged Catholics in Nigeria to shed some of their selfish and aggrandizing attitudes and come to the reality of their faith and responsibility, adding that they should answer the clarion call of the Lord through the Church leadership in order to improve the fortune and destiny of the country.

The CSFN leader stated further that "I am stupendously and stiffly worried about the inability of Catholics to speak out. Today, the cost of living is rapidly and consistently rising to the rooftops in Nigeria and Lagos in particular Before our own eyes, injustice, intimidation and harassment of the weak and poor, abuse of the rule of law, rigging and all forms of abuse of electoral process take place. Elected individuals personalize and personify governance and are not accountable to the electorate."

Okoroji further called for the co-operation, encouragement and support of all stakeholders, especially the people of Christ, for the CSFN in Amukoko Parish and the Archdiocese of Lagos in order to face the challenges of Nigerian system in the interest of the common good and the society.

The Nigerian Catholics, according to him, cannot keep quiet in a situation where there is constant failure of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) with its intimidating and highly exploitative tendencies.

"What about our educational sector? A complete failure. Most unfortunately, men and women who benefited form education in public schools, have turned experts in advocating privatization and commercialization of education In fact, government's presence is mostly felt only in revenue collection, whereas provision of essential amenities is not given attention," he claimed.