Southern Kaduna killings: 'We do not take orders from CAN' - Catholic church

- The Catholic archbishop of Abuja diocese has revealed a rift between the church and CAN

- Archbishop John Cardinal says they do not take orders from CAN

- The response came after CAN declared a day of national for

southern Kaduna

John Cardinal Onaiyekan, who is the Catholic Archbishop of the Abuja diocese, has said that they would not obey the call for a one-day national prayer directed by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in honour of victims of the southern Kaduna killings.

Revealing the reason for their refusal, he stated clearly that Catholics do not take orders from CAN. He then went on to question the logic of the call saying: “I don’t believe in praying on a particular day. I will say, pray that God will deliver us from this, not particularly on January 8, 2017.”

Earlier, Dr Musa Asake, the general secretary of CAN, had declared that Sunday, January 8, 2017, was the “national day of mourning” for all Christians at home and in the diaspora in honour of the Kaduna victims.

Dr Asake also said all Christians should dress in black on that day and spend the day praying fervently for victims of the killings in southern Kaduna.

However, Onaiyekan disagrees, saying that whoever gave that instruction should have known that there is a limit to how they could issue orders to Christians using the name of CAN.

The Archbishop said: “I do not know what to say about the present leadership of CAN because our (Catholic) church is not fully involved now in CAN. We were not even party to the election that brought in the new leadership of CAN. So, the only position that I can take now is to sit down and watch.

“I cannot tell all my members to come to church next Sunday in black dresses. We don’t get instructions from CAN; every church has its own rules.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has launched an offensive against rampaging Fulani herdsmen across the country.

The spokesperson for the Defence headquarters, Brigadier-General Rabe Abubakar disclosed on Friday, January 6 that the Army has concluded plans to launch “Operation Accord” to check illegalities of the herdsmen.

Author: Chika Jones

Naij News