The church, politics and society

I also congratulate those who attempted to serve the nation but could not get the mandate to contest. I pray that we all join together to wipe away the drizzling tears of our people. May this period of our political history say goodbye to political bitterness and bigotry! People who have visited some of the […]

I also congratulate those who attempted to serve the nation but could not get the mandate to contest. I pray that we all join together to wipe away the drizzling tears of our people. May this period of our political history say goodbye to political bitterness and bigotry! People who have visited some of the camps of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) would have discovered that the camps are inhabited by both Christians and Muslims, especially in the Federal Capital Territory. This shame of “manmade” human misery should call every responsible citizen to a serious meditation on what kindred have done to fellow kindred.  
Before Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, he had written a book, “Co-workers of the Truth, Meditations for Every Day of the Year (1990) to help every person do a daily meditation. For meditation on 11th day of every October, Pope Benedict XVI, from Gottes Angesicht suchen, pages 48-49 provided this reflection which I hereby paraphrase. During the lifetime of Saint Francis of Assisi, people experienced a deep yearning for a Church of the Spirit; they longed for a better, purer, more meaningful Christianity and anticipated that this new Church would bring about a change in the course of history as well.  His Christianity of the Spirit was based on an entirely literal obedience to the word of the Bible (Pages 323-324). Francis of Assisi confronted the Muslim jihadists and the Christian Crusaders in Jerusalem with the love of God in his heart. What saved him was not the sword but the word of God.  
Jesus founded his Church and entrusted it to the Apostles. In order that the Church may be united and continues her mission, Christ chose Peter to be the head of the Church hence he presided over the election of Matthias to take the place of Judas who betrayed Christ (Acts 1, 15-26). On the day of Pentecost, Peter was the one who proclaimed the gospel as head of the apostolic body (Acts 2, 14-36). Peter was the first Apostle to perform a miracle at the temple entrance called the Beautiful gate (Acts 3, 6). When Ananias and Saphira committed fraud, Peter exercises the mandate of his leadership as the head of the apostolic college (Acts 5, 3-8). Peter was the first to admit the gentiles into the Church. He baptized Cornelius and his house hold (Acts 10). Peter presided over the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). When Paul was called by Jesus on the Road to Damascus, he went to visit peter thereby confirming his vocation (Galatians 1, 17-18).
The Church continues to spread as the Apostles continue their work of service. The first converts were poor people, peasant farmers and traders. The Church through the work of the Apostles spread from Jerusalem to Rome. The Holy Spirit was living and working with the Apostles. God raised great Apostles like Paul and martyrs like Stephen who became the first Martyr in the Church. In A.D. 64, the Christians were accused of the cause of the fire disaster in Rome. It was suspected that this fire was caused by Emperor Nero himself. However, the emperor Nero persecuted the Church and accused them of many other things. It was during this persecution that Peter and Paul were killed. In the first century, the emperor Domitian also launched a fierce persecution against the Christians. The Christians refused to sacrifice to him as a god. Peter was succeeded in Rome by Linus, then Anacletus and Clement. The chain of succession has never been broken since the time of Peter to the present day.
The second Vatican Council declares that the mission of the Church is the mission of Christ (LG 3). This mission is to inaugurate the kingdom of God on earth and prepare the people of God for eternal happiness in heaven. Apart from preaching the gospel of salvation, the Church uses the sacraments that were instituted by Christ for the salvation of mankind. The Church through her members, the lay faithful, is called to sanctify the temporal order. The Church gives meaning to secular life as the light of the world and the salt of the earth. The Church is a sign of God’s presence in the world. The Second Vatican Council imposed it as a rule for the Church. The Christian who shirks his temporal duties shirks his duties towards his neighbour, neglects God himself and endangers his eternal life (GS 42).
The clergy is not advised to take part in partisan politics and active business in the worldly sense. He is however called to support the laity in carrying out this mission in the temporal order. To carry out the mandate of God to serve the society irrespective of tribe, religion and political affiliation,  the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has put in place the Department of “Church and Society” in the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria to coordinate the work of the Catholic Church in Nigeria  as it relates to human society in general. This Department promotes social development, human dignity, democracy, justice, equity, reconciliation and peace. To do this effectively, the Department operates with the following units: Justice, Development and Peace Commission; Health Committee; Family and Human Life Committee and Education Committee. The Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (CCFN) is in touch with other National and International Agencies irrespective of religious affiliation to make the world a place that prepares human beings for eternal union with God.
The Church had always encouraged the lay faithful to be a role model in the democratic process of the nation. Given that the clergy by law do not participate in partisan politics, the Church expects that the politicians through words and actions should be a sign of God’s presence to the people. This call today becomes more imperatives with the heat of 2015 already in the horizon. This is the time for the Christian politicians to stand for Jesus as true instrument of peace. This is the time they should put into action what they share with Jesus through baptism as priest, prophet and king.
It is a divine obligation for every political leader to enhance human dignity. However, the Church expects more from political leaders who profess faith in Jesus Christ to be salt and light to the world. The Christian who feels called to political leadership should see that mission has a vocation to promote the good name of the Church. A bad Christian political leader blasphemes the good name of God while a good Christian political leader is God’s microphone to the world. Here is what Archbishop Oscar Romero told the Christians of his time: “If some day they take the radio station away from us, if they close down our newspaper, if they don’t let us speak, if they kill all the priests and the bishop too, and you are left, a people without priests, each one of you must be God’s microphone, each one of you must be a messenger, a prophet. The church will always exist as long as there is one baptized person. And that one baptized person who is left in the world is responsible before the world for holding aloft the banner of the Lord’s truth and of his divine justice.” (Oscar Romero, http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com)
Fr. Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja and Consultor for the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (C.R.R.M), Vatican City ([email protected]).