Chukwudi Achife
31 October 2009
Enugu — The end is apparently nowhere in sight for the religious crisis engulfing the Umulumgbe community in Udi local government area of Enugu State as supporters of the embattled Catholic Priest at the centre of the saga, on Thursday, staged a mammoth counter rally in Enugu to protest what they called the attempt of some 'demonic pagans' to discredit and distract both the priest and the Church from their efforts to rid the town of satanic influences.
Saturday Champion had previously reported the revolt by a section of the community led by the traditional ruler, Igwe M.O Ozonkolo, against the priest, Rev. Father Marius Anieze, over allegations of his efforts to destroy the traditions of the people and seize its leadership under the guise of religious activities.
They had further accused the priest of dividing the predominantly Catholic community, which is also the hometown of Super Eagles star, John Utaka, with his actions, adding that many people had left the church on account of the priest's highhandedness and insensitivity.
However, supporters of the priest turned up in their numbers on Thursday at the Holy Ghost Cathedral Enugu to denounce and disown the priest's detractors before the Catholic Bishop of Enugu, Dr. Callistus Onaga.
In a petition to the Bishop, the protesting villagers said those behind efforts to discredit the priest were actually members of a powerful pagan cult, who had become uncomfortable with the priest's determined war against evil traditions and the mingling of Christian and pagan worship that had existed in the town for years.
They alleged that the cult supported and practiced human sacrifice and witchcraft and had over the years infiltrated the church with a view to reducing its potency to rid the community of their repugnant and barbaric practices.
The villagers said the secrets of the cult were revealed by a former member, who recently renounced her membership and embraced true Christian worship, adding that the woman's revelations included "very dark secrets" behind the use of a certain form of music during burials and the sweeping of the market square with palm fronds instead of brooms.
They said that this, coupled with a subsequent ban of the cult by the priest, had so shaken the cultists among who were some prominent members of the church that they decided to launch the devilish efforts to discredit and remove the priest.
They wrote, "Your Lordship, it is most unfortunate that some few fallen Christians in our town, Umulumgbe, have decided to feed your office with frivolous and false petition. The truth is that those behind the petition are confirmed members of a dangerous pagan cult, whose beliefs and practices run contrary to everything that is Christian and everything that is Catholic. They are agents of darkness whose only purpose is stultifying the good works of the church in dragging the whole community out of the clutches of witchcraft and other demonic practices. This is similar to the story of the Jews, who alleged that Christ came to destroy their tradition and asked for his crucifixion".
They added that contrary to claims of the other group, Father Anieze had brought much progress and development in the town during the brief period of his stay, including installation of functional boreholes to improve the dismal state of water supply and defence of people suffering from the oppression of the cultists.
They said the priest's efforts had continued to attract commendation from indigenes in the Diaspora, who acknowledge that he had been breaking new grounds.
They reminded the bishop that members of the other group had refused to show up at any of the meetings he (Bishop) had called between the two groups in the aftermath of their protest, adding that this was a clear indication that they had "something to hide."
"In all, our declaration is that of freedom of worship as enshrined in Nigerian Constitution and emphasised by our Parish Priest, which is that one either remains a Christian actively or one leaves for traditional worship.
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