The prophetic call, no doubt, can at times be a burden to those that have it. Our talents can also be burdensome.
Robert Obioha
The fiery Catholic priest of Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Rev. Fr. Camillus Ejike Mbaka, is in the news again. He craves for news and takes delight in hugging the headlines. He knows the power of the media in the propagation of faith and he relishes it to no end.
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The priest is prophetic, gifted and has the power of words. He has the gift of the gab. He is eloquent and charismatic. He loves his flocks and his flocks love him, too. Fr. Mbaka is very popular for his healing and prophetic ministry as well as his care for the downtrodden. He likes the miraculous and believes that he can move mountains with prayers and oracular pronouncements.
He believes in liberation theology. But his brand of liberation theology and prophecy are laced with politics, money and drama. He is friendly with many politicians. People flock to his ministry for healing and prophecy. Politicians troop there for prayers and prophetic endorsements. He is so critical of the political class, especially those in his bad book.
But like all of us, Mbaka is human. He can err. Mbaka was engulfed in prophetic controversy when he prophesized that former President Goodluck Jonathan will be defeated in the 2015 presidential poll. The prophecy came on the heels of earlier one in favour of Jonathan.
Because of the Buhari prophecy, Mbaka attracted the ire of many fans of Jonathan while those in Buhari’s camp hailed the prophecy and treated Mbaka as a true man of God, who is fearless in his prophetic utterances.
Many politicians have been victims of Mbaka’s oracular pronouncements, jibes and admonitions. For many politicians, the fear of the fast-talking youthful priest is the beginning of wisdom. Like everything good, there is always the bad side. Mbaka’s success must have made him proud and at times make him to play God.
The Catholic Church has punished Mbaka for his controversial prophecies that amounted to political endorsements and warned him to concentrate on his priestly calling. He was transferred from Enugu to an obscure part of the state yet his adoration ground has become a tourist site for those seeking for the miraculous and the prophetic.
We are, indeed, living in the prophetic dispensation and Mbaka is aware of it. Our failed health systems and lack of jobs are fueling the growth of such prophetic ministries in the country. The hopelessness in the land has made many people to rely on religion, which Karl Marx regarded as the opium of the masses.
After watching the video clips of the altercation between Mbaka and former Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi and vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2019 polls, over donation for the Adoration bazaar and Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State and the priest, it became obvious that the priest really needs our prayers as Obi counseled instead of condemnations for what many believe is unbecoming of a Catholic priest. Granted that Mbaka needs money to run the ministry, but nobody must be coerced to donate money for the cause.
While we pray for Mbaka to remain steadfast to his priestly calling as Obi enjoined, it should not be out of place to offer some words of advice and even chastisement where necessary. We do so not because we are perfect. We do so simply because he is one of us and is capable of falling. If we chastise him, it is out of brotherly love. If we rebuke him, we do so because we love him and want him to amend.
The prophetic call, no doubt, can at times be a burden to those that have it. Our talents can also be burdensome. Mbaka’s poor outing at the bazaar can be likened to a good performer who suddenly ended up performing so badly. And as the Igbo say, the shame of a bad dancer affects his relatives more than the dancer. Many Catholics and non-Catholics did not approve of what Mbaka did that day to Obi.
Although he has apologized, he should do more than that feeble apology which did not show remorse. Mbaka needs our intervention before he derails. He needs our intervention before another hero of the faith falls.
The Catholic Church should caution him enough and seriously chastise him. All this ‘go and sin no more’ is not punitive enough. The church must muster the will to flog its erring members. Mere transfer to a remote place is not far-reaching enough. The church has spared the rod for too long. The church should not hesitate to use the whip where necessary. After all, Jesus used it.
It appears that the fiery priest has crossed the red line of Catholic priesthood. He must be called to order. His prophetic utterances are seemingly becoming burdensome. His prophecies are laced with politics and money. He must choose between God and politics. It is better he remains a priest of the Catholic faith.
But he cannot be a priest of the Catholic Church and at the time be a politician. The clash of faith and politics will be too disastrous to contemplate. The pulpit must never replace the soapbox. The house of God should be a house of prayer and not a house of politics. The altar of God should not be personalized. It belongs to God and God alone. Catholic priest use the altar for worship.
Catholic priest are known for humility, celibacy, chastity and poverty. They are not boastful or worldly. They are never arrogant. Since God owns all people and their wealth, He does not need a priest to cajole people to part with their money all in the name of a church bazaar or charity or whatever. God loves a cheerful giver who willingly gives. The giver must not be coerced to give to God or church.
Let the men and women of God and God’s children join all of us to pray for our priests and our political leaders so that they will lead us the right way. In the last day, god will hold them accountable for leading us well or misleading us.
The Catholic Church should review its position on priest running individual prayer or healing ministries alongside priestly duties. There is need for urgent regulation of such prayer ministries to rid them of inherent abuses which are legion. The church should review its requirements for candidates for priestly ordination.
Those already ordained must be made to obey the laws of the church and God. Politicians should stop seeking for political endorsements in churches or prayer grounds. Let them mount the soapbox and canvass for votes. The voters and not the priests and prayer ministries will determine their fate during elections.