The Catholic Diocese of Enugu, under the leader of Callistus V. Onaga, has scheduled May 7 to May 21, 2021, as a prayer week for ‘atonement and reparation’.
This development is coming 24 hours after angry youths, said to members of Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria (AMEN), stormed the residence of the Enugu Catholic Bishop, protesting the whereabouts of Fr. Ejike Mbaka, the spiritual leader of AMEN.
Mbaka’s followers had declared him missing on Wednesday, triggering a protest on the streets of Enugu.
They marched from the Adoration ground in Emene, Enugu, to the Bishop’s Court at Igboeze Street, Independence Layout Enugu where they destroyed some parts of the building. They also destroyed church facilities at the Holy Ghost Cathedral.
Reacting to this, the Enugu Diocese, called on all Parishes, Chaplaincies, and Religious Houses in the Catholic Diocese of Enugu to embark on the atonement prayer.
The statement sighted by The Street Journal read in part:
“On 5 May 2021, the followers of Fr. Camillus Ejike Mbaka of the Adoration Ministry Enugu, Nigeria violently broke into the diocesan cathedral Church and desecrated the holy altar of sacrifice. Over and above this, they brutally vandalized the diocesan bishop’s residence, the cathedral parish house and the secretariat building complex
“Therefore, I hereby declare and call for a one-week union of prayer in reparation and atonement for this heinous act against our central place of worship and the sanctity of the Church. The prayer begins from Friday, 7th May to Friday, 14th May 2021. Every parish, chaplaincy and religious community in the
diocese is obliged to participate in this holy activity.
“In addition to the traditional May devotion prayers (like daily benediction), the following prayers are to be offered for this purpose:
(a) 5 decades of the Holy Rosary
(b) Act of Reparation to the Most Blessed Sacrament (attached to this letter) and
(C) Psalms 51 and 23.
“I enjoin you to remain sober and keep the diocese in prayer. With divine assistance and grace, we shall overcome this challenging moment. May Our Lady, the Queen of May intercede for us, Amen.”