Ebonyi Catholic Priest Seizes Woman's Phone for Ringing During Service, Gives Her One Condition
- A Nigerian man has cried out online after a Catholic refused to return the phone of an old woman he seized during mass service
- He said the Catholic priest seized the old woman's phone because it rang during mass and attached a condition to return it to her
- The man called on the authorities to entreat the priest to return the old woman's phone and wondered if the same action would have been taken against an LGA chairman or a senator
A Catholic priest has been called out for seizing an old woman's phone and refusing to return it.
Odo Godfrey Chikwere, a Nigerian man, lamented the incident on Facebook and shed more light on what happened.
Source: Getty Images
How priest seized an old woman's phone
Godfrey said the Catholic priest seized the old woman's phone because it rang during mass service and has refused to hand it back to her to date.
He lamented that the old woman depends on her children, who are outside Ebonyi and can only reach her via phone. The priest allegedly insists she buys a bag of cement before he returns the device.
Godfrey appealed to people to help reach the priest as all efforts to get across to him proved abortive. He wondered if the priest would have seized the phone of an LGA chairman or a senator if it had rung in church. His post on Facebook read in part:
"...The priest is insisting that the old woman must buy a bag of cement before she will get her phone back.
"The woman’s children are outside Ebonyi and the only way to reach the SICK woman is through phone call.
"I have tried getting across to the priest to no avail.
"I passionately appeal that the priest should kindly release the phone to the old woman who may not know anything called silent or vibration mode as part of his own evangelism.
"I doubt if the priest would have collect phone of LGA chairman, commissioner or senator should it ring during Mass..."
Legit.ng could not independently verify the man's claim as of the time of this report.
Catholic faith frowns at Ebonyi priest's action
In a chat with Legit.ng, Peterclaver Kenkwo, a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Emekuku, Imo State, criticised the Ebonyi priest for his action.
"Now, as an ardent Catholic, I genuinely think this is not cool; this is an abuse of power. Yes, her phone rang in the church, which isn’t allowed especially when the priest is strict, but trying to extort and gaslight her is very bad.
"This is an old woman that maybe doesn’t even know how to put her phone on silent.
"If that was the president’s phone would he have seized it? If the answer is no (which is obvious) he should return her item and if he doesn’t, the woman should sue him for theft."
Reactions trail the priest's action
Emmanuel Ereke said:
"Many are called by the materials in the Catholic Church, but preaching for souls very many of them scores zero, A priest who can't even collect a phone from PA to ward councilor... Anyway it's well with dramas in different churches these days..."
Chioma Regina said:
"The Priest should have as a matter of fact considered her old age nah. I know if would have been a politician, he wouldn't have dared such, rather, would have been like honourable, pick your call."
Charles Ulebe said:
"Same law applies at St Paul's parish Amudo,
"Laws that are only for the poor masses,
"Big men are not included.
"Religion have really dealt with us."
Barr Clement Iziogo said:
"Most of these religious dogmas are somewhat repugnant to natural justice, equity, and good conscience. If by chance anything happens to that woman, he will be held responsible."
AB Samzema said:
"What some priests cannot do to people who are rich , that's what they do to the poor. Let's assume the old woman is a mother to the LG chairman , will the priest do that???"
Titus Eze said:
"The Parish Priest may not be aware of this.
"But you see all these catechist and parish chairmen in the village......
"After devil fear them."
Engr Sunday Icha Idoko said:
"Some people should not test my impatient with this kind of story bikonuuuu."
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that a man who wanted to be a reverend father had turned to a content creator after leaving seminary school.
Catholic church reacts to priest's alleged wedding
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the Catholic church had refuted a report that a priest had an unauthorised wedding.
According to the report, the wedding took place at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Abakakili. The report included an image of the priest and his lover in a wedding dress, adding that the priest is from the Afikpo North local government area of the state.
The clergyman, dressed in full priestly attire, was seen holding the bride's hand in a canopy-covered area filled with guests. Both he and the unidentified bride were smiling in the photograph.
Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng
