27/04/2026
On a Saturday night into Sunday morning, just a short distance from my house I was awoken from sleep by a loud noise coming from a crusade ground. I had earlier learnt that the crusade was by Catholics, for I heard them pray the rosary and celebrate Mass. But unlike authentic Catholicism, they were noisy like the Pentecostals, shouting Holy Spirit many times and rambling in prayers. But this very night, the noise was highest that it woke me from sleep. This was hosted by a “Catholic ministry” as they call it. This catholic ministry is a new wave of organizations established and headed by catholic priests in Nigeria.
But, is this Catholic? How did the bishops permit this! Dear bishops, were you raised in the premises of noise or within the confines of silence? How is it that you permit noise, empty ramblings in prayer such as cannot be found in the mother Church, tracing back even to her infancy, the era of the holy apostles whom the Holy Spirit directed in all wisdom and insight and gentleness? Is that what you now confuse with these empty ramblings from these priests whom seeing their ways, it becomes difficult to explain where they came from, the kind of trainings they received, who trained them and under whose supervision they were trained? Dear bishops, have you become so comfortable in your offices in the flesh that you have become unable to see well matters of the spirit? How do you allow these alien practices in the holy Church of God?On a Saturday night that priests and faithful are suppose to remain in the silence of holy meditation, awaiting the resurrection of the Lord on Sunday that these priests, gathered with their misled faithful, are making great noises at the top of their voices, raising funds and calling on the faithful gathered there to come up and give 1 million, 5 hundred thousand down to1 hundred thousand, and then 50 thousand down to 1 thousand! They have even acted worse than many Pentecostals. This is total confusion!
Do these people represent the holy Catholic Church? No, it is a shame! They are making us ashamed, they are disgracing us. But you might say: “who else knows the faith, but us! They would as well think we are doing what is right”. But you are misled. For there are non Catholics and those who are not even christians but understand that the true way of the Catholic Church is the only truth in this world. And many of the people in this category are sincerely looking forward in their hearts to returning home. But now you are scattering that home and offering them no place to return. You are disappointing them, you are confusing that home, you are mixing that home with things that are alien.They look up to us with high respect, with admiration, with adoration, and as their model; but your current behaviour is making them wonder what is going on with us, and if we are still what we are, if we still deserve their respect, their followership. You are disgracing us, we are ashamed! Take away these noisy, alien, so-called Catholic ministries! Throw away their noise, their ramblings, their faithlessness, their lies, their confusions, their empty prayers and teachings devoid of the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. These people call the Holy Spirit everytime but know nothing about Him. And the category of persons in the Church mostly affected by this are the charismatics. Wherever these people started getting it all wrong! Whomever’s watch under which they strayed! They need to come home! They need to become Catholics, true Catholics again! Dear bishops, you have great questions to answer on the day of judgement. Be prepared, be certain that you are preparing to be saved from the holy wrath of God! For I tell you that it shall be worse for Church leaders than the led.
-Jude Philipmary
Image by Michele Bitetto on unsplash
