My Input for the Synodal Process in Osogbo Diocese

 

1. Get Priests into studying Sciences, especially Physics. The more time proceeds, the more the relevance of science and faith shall confluence.

 

2. Get Catechumen preparing for Confirmation to do the Life in the Spirit Seminar as a preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. No sane person can deny the experience of the Life in the Spirit Seminar.

 

3. Added to Philosophy and Theology, the formal study of Leadership and Management should be incorporated into the syllabus for those preparing for Priesthood.

 

4. As the traditional churches give way to modern English-speaking Pentecostalism, the Catholic Church shall with time remain the only Christian champion of Yoruba tradition in our land. And as the world delves openly deeper into hidden knowledge, specialists should be raised among Priests in the study of our culture, especially the deeper ‘forbidden’ aspects of it in order to properly inculturate, guide and guard the numerous who flock to these esoteric dangers irrespective of what is being taught on the pulpit.

 

5. The culture of the individual celebration of Baptismal days should be proactively championed by the Church.

 

6. In-depth research to be made on the spirituality behind Black Maria. Mary is Black.  Not as a matter of sentiment but as a fact of reality. Without transcending physiology and entering into consciousness, this will sound all pure nonsense, but we cannot properly resolve the human concern without addressing the primordial ‘blackness’ of Mary. This should begin by having the audacity to create a Black Maria grotto in all our parishes.

 

7. At least 25% of our Diocesan budget should be invested in the religious, cultural and scientific education of the youths. This is the real Sustainability that should be practiced. Catholic children, young and youths should be nurtured and cultured just as one carefully puts rare gardening species in the nursery and cultivate. Young people are the strength of Africa and the most potent force of the Church and the world. They should be prepared for the leadership position awaiting them in the Church and in the world.

 

8. I don’t know how it’ll work but I know this present condemnatory attitude of Pentecostalism will not serve the Catholic Church in our land well. Courageous Collaboration must be fostered with other faiths and especially with Pentecostals. Picking what is good of them and condemning lovingly what is bad. The attitude of closed condemnation which is presently the norm will not help us to grow and face the draconian ideologies that are imminent.

 

9. Our Graveyards should be accorded proper proactive material and spiritual dedication. Physical maintenance of our gravesites must be a constant norm. Our problems generally as a nation have been compounded because of the neglect of our dead.

 

10. We should be more radical about the Eucharist. Few people believe and yet the Eucharist is everything. Its sacrificial significance should be pointed out more (Mass) since we are sacrifice obsessed in our land. The Eucharist should not be preached only when Jn:6 is read, it should be the focus of everyday preaching at Mass. A Eucharistic culture should be the breath of every Parish, that is where our Renaissance would be found.

 

11. A cultural dialogue and encounter with people of other faiths such as Islam and Traditionalist should be initiated.  The dualistic rationale for action in my opinion may be untenable in the long run. A true survivor is one who can thread in Grey, and from there be able to discern Black and White. This is tough in our culture because we’ve built an environment of winner takes all, but without the intelligence or stooping in Grey in order to win the White, we run the risk of losing all to Black. It is work, but it is necessary to work!

 

12. The concept of welfare support should be a parish affair and not be narrowed down to St Vincent de Paul. ‘Egbe alaanu to ni’lo aanu’. There should be a real structural initiative to address individual needs in the Parish. This may cause rancour but it was also a problem in the early church, and in my opinion, it should be the starting point for faith. Priests should cultivate enough detachment to let the deacons champion this. And where are the deacons? The church should have the humility to ordain spiritually-minded professionals as deacons to manage the Church’s temporal affairs. Priests should only stay as general overseers and devote more time to the Word. That was what the early church did.