The Catholic Church has explained the rationale behind the recent transfer of Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka, from Christ the King Parish‎, GRA, where he established the Adoration Prayer Ministry to Our Lady Parish, Emene, in Enugu.

While Mbaka lamented the fact that the church sent him to ‘suffer’ in his new station, the South-East caucus of the All Progressives inferred that ‘outside influence’ was involved in the cleric’s posting.

The church however, revealed to Premium Times on Monday, that Mbaka’s transfer was not meant to serve as punishment but rather, to send him to where he would be more useful to the church.

The Secretary-General of the Catholic Secretar‎iat of Nigeria, Reverend Father Ralph Madu described Father Mbaka’s transfer as a ‘normal procedure’.

“Mbaka’s own is not an exception. The Bishop has the right to post any priest wherever he feels his service would be more useful to the church.”

“His such frivolities ‎have nothing to do with the posting. His posting should have been a privilege, not a punishment – which the Bishop can do because he has the power.”

“If he (Mbaka) says it’s a punishment, then it’s open for further investigation. Posting is a regular thing, a priest can be transferred after two, three, four, or more years, it depends on the discretion of the Bishop.”

“That ministry (Adoration Ministry) is his private ministry, it does not belong to the church. Overseeing a parish is a full time job. Overseeing a ministry is a bigger task. If the church decides to take him somewhere where he’ll have more time to carry out his ministry, how is it punitive? That should not be the language.”

“He is supposed to be a missionary. What if the Bishop had closed down the ministry‎, which is within his power to do? Sometimes, transfers can be for the good of the priest as something can be going wrong which he might not be aware of. The Bishop is free to move any priest at any time, it is his prerogative.”

Kolapo Olapoju