Enugu Imbroglio: Politics In The Name Of God – Catholicism and Theocracy

A recent report from Enugu state, Nigeria said there was a pandemonium at the Government Technical College ground where a reported 14 people died and many were wounded.

Immediately there were accusations and counter accusations about the involvement of the Enugu Government using its thugs who shot at the crowd, this was later changed to an accusation that the government agents actually used poisonous gas.

My initial questions were the following:

Who planted the poisonous gas and how were they able to do that within the ground without being affected themselves? EXCEPT they had gas-masks on – where there witnesses to prove this?

What type of poisonous gas could be used in an OPEN FIELD to have such devastating effect without using an ENORMOUS QUANTITY introduced from a HIGH ALTITUDE to have a widespread effect?

What type of gas could be so easily released to cause death so quickly with such a few so affected?

Could the other sustained injuries (outside those caused in the process of a stampede) be attributed to poisonous gases?

Answers to the above questions will provide evidence that no poisonous gas could have met the criteria to be able to achieve some of the results being banded together by Oji and Nwodo. I personally believe that independent parties with Enugu state interests should bring these facts to the attention of the public and ask why Oji and Nwodo instead of providing solutions for this calamity that befell their state
are making mockery of the dead and insulting the intelligence of the people of Enugu state for their sadistic political enhancement.

The fact that the Catholic Church is the source of this pandemonium is neither new nor peculiar to Enugu State.

The Catholic Church has been known to dabble into politics acting as agent-provocateur for politicians whom they think they could get recognition or benefits from and against politicians who refuse to toe their line of thinking using the name of God in vain.

Before I am labeled as an anti-catholic, May I say that as an Anglican Christian, I have nothing against the doctrine of Catholicism as it pertains to the tenets of Christianity.

The Catholic Church has from time in history used its organization to put pressure on politicians to do their biddings and refusal often lead to accusations, anti-government campaign using the church’s pulpits to deliver anti-government “sermons”, all these in the name of God.

Few Examples of this will be given to show the extent to which the Catholic Church will go using its priests like Reverend Mbaka of Enugu State to destabilize a government that refuses to co-operate with it. A recent Vanguard Newspaper article gave a reason for this imbroglio viz:

“It began in the early years of governor Chimaroke Nnamani in late 1999 when Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka had launched a sustained criticism of the governor following alleged governor involvement in the murder of late Sunday Ugwu, elder brother of the embattled vocal legislator in the state, Hon. Nwabueze Ugwu. Rev. Father Mbaka who claimed to have counselled the governor on several occasions on issues that concerns the proper administration of the state to no avail, said during one of his weekly adoration sermons that he decided to criticise the governor publicly because he allegedly "ungodly" and impervious to good advice. The massive retrenchment of civil servants in Enugu in 1999 by the Nnamani further strengthened Mbaka critical position on the governor.”

Reverend Mbaka was again quoted in the same article to have boastfully said:

"The Catholics here in Enugu support the PDP. We have
about 75% of votes here being the single largest Christian denomination in Enugu. The large percentage is not guaranteed in the future if the PDP continues to support this man (governor). This regime here has been sponsoring murders of innocent citizens in Enugu state. In fact, we had sent list of government hit-man to the police here in Enugu but no positive response has come out of it."

This veil threat from the Catholic Church using Rev Mbaka could be traced to the policy of the VATICAN where the policy of one God one nation in which the ground was set and efforts are being made to achieve religious and political control of crucial policies in governments in notable states in the world including the USA.

In the USA for example, this is inspired by the Vatican and made possible through the National Council of Catholic Bishops who have continuously created the impression that they speak for the millions of Catholics in the USA and using this as a formidable political force to intimidate politicians.

The above tactics are now being perpetuated by the Bishops in Enugu state using Rev. Mbaka as a front. Their political force as mentioned by Rev Mbaka lies in having about 75% of the votes and therefore indirectly saying “do or die” politically to the politicians in Enugu State including the Governor who refuse to do their bidding. For a young governor like Chimaraoke Nnamani who is also less experienced with dealing with the church,  it is like David against the Organizations and Machineries of a Goliath many times over and the Catholic church knows this and using this with the help of Nnamani’s political enemies to perpetuate this un-Godly and dastardly act.

A further look into the past will also reveal the that the Catholic Church also goes against the freedom of the press as part of its orchestration to control the political process of any state it wants. The catholic hierarchy has consistently refused to accept the concept of freedom of the press.

In an article by Stephen Stumford aptly titled Vatican Rejection of Freedom of the Press, he said:

“Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846) "condemned the ideas of liberalism. He viewed freedom of conscience as a `false and absurd concept,' indeed a mad delusion. Freedom of the press, to his mind, could never be sufficiently abhorred and anathematized. In 1850, Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) branded freedom of the press and freedom of association as intrinsically evil.”

The influence of the Catholic Church in other foreign lands including Lebanon is well documented in George Irani’s The papacy and the Middle East in which he also attributed the Vatican interest in Lebanon to be economic. Further instances of meddling in other countries include Argentina in which an Associated Press story in the May 21, 1997, Kansas City Star reports that Cardinal Pio Laghi—then Archbishop and Papal’s Ambassador in Argentina--has been accused by a leading human rights group in Argentina, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, of complicity in the torture, murder, and kidnapping of thousands of suspected political dissidents. The group charges that he “collaborated closely with the 1976-1983 military dictatorship” during the so-called dirty war and, on the testimony of “a bishop, seven! Priests, a mother superior, and two other persons, [was seen] at the government’s secret prisons and torture centres “The group has asked Italy to prosecute Laghi and the pope to lift the cardinal’s diplomatic immunity so he can be brought to trial.

While Southern Nigerians have been calling for a review of the Sharia Laws, they have forgotten to look at their own “backyard” for the existence of an evil force that is gradually creeping into our political consciousness and trying to take over our mind in the name of God, perpetuating the evil machination through political control, using the like of Rev Mbaka to implement their un-Godly acts for total control of the political will of the people and daring anyone like Governor Nnamani to come against them and face the choice of political suicide.

While I pray to all to re-examine their conscience on this issue of Catholicism and Politics, I will conclude this article by quoting John Swomley again:

“All this is evidence why political ecumenism is a real danger. Progressive Catholics and non-Catholics must examine every proposal by Catholic bishops and Catholic politicians with unusual scrutiny as to whether they will move us ever closer to a theocratic state--quite like the state advocated by such Protestant right-wing groups as the Christian Coalition, Promise Keepers, Focus on the Family, and James Kennedy’s Coral Ridge Ministries. There is some evidence that they may already be in bed together. “

May God in his infinite mercy, show us all the guiding light and save us from the modern day Pharisees calling and using the name of God in Vain.

For a follow up on this Read : No friend of Democracy by Edith Moore to understand the political mischief of the Catholic Church on how they helped the fascists to power in the early 20th century:

http://home.earthlink.net/~velid/cf/nfd/

References

The Worldwide Impact of Religion on Contemporary Politics, edited by Richard L. Rubenstein. New York: Paragon House, 1987.

Theocracy - http://www.cqpress.com/context/articles/epr_theo.html

Catholic Church Vows to Resist Governor: THIS-DAY http://www.thisdayonline.com/news/20020315news18.html

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.: Exodus 20:7, Deuteronomy 5:11 http://www.bibleontheweb.com/Bible.asp

One Nation, One God by John M. Swomley :                          http://www.population-security.org/swom-98-05.htm

Enugu Crises: Presidency Wades in VANGUARD http://www.vanguardngr.com/news/articles/2002/march/16032002/f1160302.htm

Vatican Rejection of the Freedom of the Press by S. Stumford: http://www.population-security.org/22-CH14.html

Catholicism and Politics in France: http://www.pust.edu/oikonomia/pages/febb2000/puel.htm

Eschatology and the world: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/5552/jan.htm

The papacy and the Middle East by George Irani

NO FRIEND OF DEMOCRACY by Edith Moore : http://home.earthlink.net/~velid/cf/nfd/