Catholic Church leaders have called on the faithful to pray for God’s guidance for the clergy to not derail in their obligations to the public.

The Catholic leaders spoke in separate interviews in Lagos against the backdrop of the recent suspension of James Anelu, the priest-in-charge of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Ewu-Owa, Ikorodu, Lagos.

On Tuesday, the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos suspended Mr Anelu for banning the singing of Igbo songs during mass in the church.

Onyema Onyemankeya, Catholic Deanery of the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), FESTAC chapter’s coordinator, said there should be no discrimination in the house of God.

“One thing is sure; as humans, we are not infallible. The priest’s state of mind at the time of the incident may have been manipulated by the devil to cause disaffection in the church for normally the clergy cannot say such knowing the brotherhood and one family posture of the church,” said Mr Onyemankeya.

National president of the Catholic Women Organisation (CWO), Mary Asibi-Gonsum, said the over-familiarity of priests with the faithful could cause distractions in the management of the church.

“Therefore, there should not be room for discrimination in the house of God, for the worship is for God and not for man,” she added.

She called on the clergy to draw a line between the church’s tenets and peoples’ opinions in the administration of the church not to give room for misconception, misinterpretation and misapplication of the norms of the church.

She added that prayer as a key solution to problems should be made for the preachers to be above board to discharge their obligations.

Also speaking on the incident, Stephen Nwaiku, the pastoral council chairman of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church Onireke, Lagos, said the incident had led to disharmony in other churches.

(NAN)