Shock, disbelief as popular Catholic priest announces resignation

The Christian community in Akwa Ibom has been thrown into a state of shock and disbelief following the sudden resignation of a fiery preacher and a priest of the Catholic Church, Patrick Henry Edet.

News of his sudden resignation spread like a wild fire, no thanks to the social media and the fact that he made the announcement while on air during his weekly radio programme, “Grace and Inspiration.”

Immensely popular, Edet takes after Pentecostal preachers in the way he demonstrates and he raises his voice, paces back and forth, up and down the podium while conducting his teachings as seen on live television and this has attracted large followership across the state. He has been a priest for 11 years until Wednesday when he announced on a radio programme in Uyo that he had resigned.

“Yesterday, the 1st of August, was my first day outside the laws, the regulations, (and) the authority of the Catholic church. On 31 of July, I resigned from my services, my duties and obligations as a Catholic priest,” he said.

“I ceased to be a Catholic priest in my thinking, in my spirit, in my soul, (and) in my body. In my mind, every law that bound me bound me because I submitted myself to the Catholic Church as an institution.

“Having submitted my resignation letter to my authorities in the Catholic Church, in my spirit, soul and body, I am free from every law that guided me. I submit myself to one authority – God,” he said.

“Peace has been taken away from me for years. I live in fear and in doubt. Sometimes I doubt myself – am I really right, am I in the right place,” he said. “A box is already made for you and you cannot go outside that box,” he explained.

“You cannot know God beyond that box. You cannot express God beyond that box. And any attempt for you to go beyond that box brings you label.

“The God that I have discovered in life is a God that cannot be fully known. That God is a God that cannot be fully predicted and cannot be fully captured in human expression otherwise he will cease to be a mystery. That is a God I have come to accept as my God.

“I have come to realise that serving that God you need freedom. When that freedom is limited you cannot fully serve that God.

“Each time I tried to cross the line, the thing I meet crushes me on the inside and makes me feel guilty. But I cannot stop doing it. There’s a pull inside of me telling me there is more, and life was meant to be more and that more is found in freedom in God. The reason I am doing this is that I want to be right with God first. I want to go to heaven when I die,” he further said.

Edet however, praised the Catholic Church for being “so organised” and “the best institution that has ever been built” by man, but maintained that the space given to him in the Catholic Church as a priest was so small.

While many have commended his action for being man enough to quit what he considered to be against his freedom, others have descended heavily on him for allegedly using to the Catholic Church to achieve fame and popularity then deciding to dump the platform that gave him all.

Essien Essien, a reverend minister of another church noted that “in matters of Faith, care should be taken. For instance, the so-called freedom which he claims now is uncalled for because he was not in chains there. To me, the best that a humble and visionary child of God should do if there’s any personal reason to change place of worship is to be grateful to the former church. It is immature to condemn anyone, anything or any church we have benefited from. The Catholic Church trained this priest, the church offered the platform from where he launched out to the world which has taken him over now.’’

Though the Catholic Church has yet to issue any statement on Edet’s resignation, BDSUNDAY gathered that Edet has had to face many challenges in the course of his priesthood due to his inspirational teachings. Twice he was said to have been transferred out of Uyo Diocese to an obscure parish and another to a church outside Akwa Ibom State but he has always been able to find his way back to Uyo where he draws large audience through his message of salvation and deliverance.

It not certain whether he resigned voluntarily or he was forced to leave as the Catholic might have found his approach to evangelism at odds with its doctrine. One thing is however clear, this is not the best of times for the church.

In Imo State, there is a raging controversy over the refusal of Mbaise priests to accept the appointment of Peter Okpalaeke as the Bishop of Ahiara Diocese of the church on the basis that the selection process was faulty.

Still in Imo State, in the Okigwe Diocese, Christian Amusuo, a priest and reverend father, who was in charge of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Eziama –Osuama in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area  reportedly shot his assistant, Precious Osuji, also a reverend father. Amusuo and Osuji have since been removed from their positions.

Edet’s resignation is not the first to happen within the church. In February 2013, the Catholic community was jolted when Pope Benedict XVI became the first Pope to resign in 600 years citing his mental state and waning physical healthy.

 

ANIFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo