The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, CSN, has said it did not approve the decision of certain priests to ban their parishioners from church attendance because they do not possess the Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC).
It made this position known on Tuesday evening in a statement co-signed by its Secretary-General, Very Rev. Fr. Zacharia Samjumi; Director, Pastoral Affairs, Very Rev. Fr. Michael Banjo; and Director, Church and Society, Very Rev. Fr. Uchechukwu Obodoechina, in Abuja.
It would be recalled that the viral video of a Catholic priest in Plateau state, Rev Fr. Kelas Gogwim, who stopped worshippers without their PVCs from entering and observing the mass in his parish got many tongues wagging on social media.
Reacting, the administrative headquarters of the Catholic Church in Nigeria cautioned that every priest must promote, respect and defend all the rights that are fundamental to the human person, particularly the right to private and public worship.
The statement reads in part, “We commend those priests who, through different legitimate means, have vigorously encouraged the faithful entrusted to their care to acquire their PVCs. We ask such priests not to relent.
“However, in our bid to encourage all to obtain their PVCs, utmost care must be taken not to deprive the people of those means that Christ, through the Church, has made available for the nourishment and salvation of their souls.
“The Church, therefore, does not approve of the practice according to which pastors of souls prohibit Christ’s faithful from public worship on account of not having their PVCs. The faithful must not be denied Holy Communion or any of the Church’s sacraments on the same ground.
“Priests who act this way violate the laws of the Church, which clearly define those circumstances under which the faithful may be legitimately deprived of such spiritual goods.
“In other words, when genuine situations demand that the exercise of the right to worship, be justly limited, this is to be done not arbitrarily but in accordance with the law promulgated by the competent legislature.
“Parish priests, their equivalents and their assistants, pure as their intention may be, do not have the authority to create impediments to the free exercise of the right to worship and to receive the sacraments of the Church.”
Nevertheless, the CSN noted that democracy is driven by the people and requires their active participation; adding that all hands must be on deck to overcome the voter apathy that, over the years, has characterised the process of electing the country’s political leaders
It commended the June 20, 2022 decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the INEC from ending voter registration on June 30, 2022, and suggested ways its clergy and laity can encourage citizens to obtain their PVCs.
“Religious leaders should take to the social media with messages that underline the centrality of the PVC.
“Parish priests should invite the INEC to their parishes or near their parishes as registration centers. The INEC officials should also be invited to speak in the Churches, as was done in Lagos,” the statement added.
