The Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Peter Okpaleke whose appointment and consecration in 2012 sparked off years of protest in Ahiara Mbaise Catholic Diocese .
This is contained in a letter dated Feb. 19 by the Vatican where it accepted the resignation of Okpaleke.
He was replaced by the Bishop of Umuahia Diocese, Most Rev.Lucia Ugo right to take charge as Apostolic Administrator.
Okpaleke was consecrated as Bishop of Ahiara Diocese (Mbaise)after the death of the first Bishop of the Diocese Most Rev.Victor Choke, in 2012.
He was appointed to the position by Pope Benedict XVI but was never allowed to perform the priestly duties in the diocese because of several protests and petitions.
Pope Francis wrote to the priests of the diocese in June 2017, giving them 30 days to accept Okpaleke or be suspended from the church.
Other priests in the diocese had alleged that there was canonical violations in the appointment of Okpaleke as the Bishop of Ahiara.
They argued that it was unfair to impose a Catholic bishop on them when they have their sons as Catholic bishops.
Also in a letter to the priests of Ahiara diocese, Pope Francis was quoted to have said that “whosoever was opposed to Bishop Okpaleke taking possession of the diocese wants to destroy the church.”
The pontiff was also said to have ordered every priest of the diocese, including those living in other parts of the country and those in Diaspora, to write him a letter apologizing for the protest and ask for his forgiveness.
Meanwhile, the letter which announced Okpaleke’s resignation from Ahiara diocese read in part, “I am convinced that my remaining the Bishop of Ahiara Diocese is no longer beneficial to the Church.
“I do not think that my apostolate in a diocese, where some of the priests and lay faithful are ill-disposed to have me in their midst will be effective.
“I invite any dissenting priests to re-examine their initial motivations for becoming priests in the Catholic Church. Repentance and reconciliation are very urgent,” he said.(NAN)
