Ahiara diocese priests reportedly comply with Pope’s directives

Catholic priests of the Ahiara Diocese in Imo State have reportedly complied with the directives of the Papacy.
Recall that about 3,000 faithful of the Diocese on Saturday converged on the Mater Ecclesiae cathedral, Mbaise in Imo State for a rally to restate their total rejection of the embattled Bishop Peter Ebele Okpaleke.

Bishop Okpaleke, was appointed Bishop of Ahiara by then-Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, but has been unable to take control of the diocese because of protests by the majority of priests.
Okpaleke was later ordained a bishop in May 2013. The ordination took place not in the Ahiara diocese but at a seminary in the Archdiocese of Owerri.
But the priests had contended that Ahiara is in Mbaise, a predominantly Catholic region of Imo State and that Bishop Okpaleke was brought from neighbouring Anambra State.

In reaction to their opposition, Pope Francis gave the defiant priests a 30-day ultimatum, which expires July 9, to write a letter to apologize for their oppositon, promise obedience to authority and accept the bishop appointed for their diocese.

But late Sunday, a statement by Governor Rochas Okorocha’s Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, quoted Rev. Fr. Joseph Ezeji, one of the leaders of the priests, to have stated that they have agreed to sheathe their swords.
“Rev. Fr. Joseph Ezeji gave the vote of thanks, pledging allegiance to the Papacy, to abide by the decisions of the Pope and confirmed that all Mbaise priests have written their letters of apology to the Pope.

“What the people are requesting is for any Bishop groomed from their soil to lead them. The canon law seems to have been bent in the case of Ahiara Diocese”, Vanguard quoted.
Okorocha was said to have appealed that: “We must change the story of Ahiara. I want to state here categorically that since this crisis, I’ve been listening patiently and watching. But I had wished that my advice was taken ab-initio and ipso-facto.
“If Mbaise must be in the news, it must be in the news for the right reasons.
“This is because Mbaise is the largest single ethnic group in the South-East and there is no place you will go in this world without having an Mbaise man doing well in that region. Mbaise also contributes substantially to what makes Imo thick.”