l•!CCLESIASTICAL MINISTRIES FOR LAY PEOPLE IN NIGERIA: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS
1-filary Odili Okeke
I INTRODUCTION fficial eccleeiaetical ministries for lay people were introduced () into the Catholic Church by Paul VI (1). Before the introduc- 111111, official ministry in the Church was understood- strictly as 111r d ministry which belonged to the clergy. Vatican II had-opened 1 I II way to wider understanding of ministry, ministerium, as service, 11 word which the Council used to describe activities undertaken by l !11, people of God. In nineteen pla. ces, the Council use~ministerium 1 .. ,. uctivities of lay people in the Church and in the w~rld (2). The , 1111 rging consciousness of the place and role of lay people in the , urnmunity of believers made it theologicallly possible to apply to I I II activities oflay people the word previously reserved, in ecclesias- f 11•111 parlance, to the ordained. -· 'I'he use of ministry for activities of the laity did not, however, 11dmit lay people to ecclesiastical ministry. The development came wrth the reform of minor orders by Paul VI. Before the Motu ' . 1 'rnprio, Ministeria quaedam, candidates for the priesthood, and lu-nce for the sacred ministry, were admitted into the clerical status liy tonsure, and they had to receive the minor orders of porter, «xorcist, lector and acolyte before the major orders of subdiaconate, rluiconate and then priesthood. The minor orders were reserved for ,·11 rics, that is, those set apart for the sacred ministry. The reform 111' Paul VI abolished the tonsure, 'minor orders and the sub• d rnconate, and established the two ministries offector and acolyte, traving the episcopal conference the faculty to retain the sub• drnconate and to apply for new ministries as the need oftheirregions dictated (3). \ The relevance of this reform to our topic is that the Pope made tho ministries open to· 1ay people, and so they were no longer n,aerved to the candidates ·for the sacred ministry (4). By estab- 11Uitude of the community, cultural factors and local conditions has uff
3 2 acolytes. For the lectors, the ability to speak or read the English -~ost. dioceses reoorted that no one had been installed in the Language is not an absolute requirement. They must, however, have ministriee oflector and acolyte. Bishop Makozi installed ten lay men enough education to read the language in use in the place they must as lectors when ~e was the Bishop of Lokoja. lt was reported that possess a singing voice; and they must be able to instruct others (9). fiv~ people were installed as lectors in the cathedral in Maiduguri Catechists are natural candidates for the order of acolyte (10). whil~ ten men_ were made extraordinary ministers of Holy Com• The decree went on to give some of the functions to be entrusted mumon. !he-d1oc_es_e of Oyo has some installed lectors, acolytes and to the acolyte, and to determine the liturgical roles and dress of the oxt~ordm~ry i:rumsters of the Eucharist. Many dioceses permit installed acolyte. His role must be more prominent and intimate, maJo_r seminarians and male religious to distribute Holy Com• in the E·ucharistisc celebration, than that of the Mass servers and munion. The case of religious women. is different. Only in some he should wear a distinctive garb. He may be called upon to help in diocese in the North and the West are they allowed to distribute distributing Holy Communion to lessen the overall time of the Holy Communion. celebration; and he can be called upon to expose the Blessed Sacra• From the repl~es, mos~ l~y people would like more lay people to ment for adoration but without giving the blessing (11) help as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist. This is one area The CBCN has made the necessary legislative provisions for the where the situation of emergency and chronic necessity as envisaged establishment of m inistries for the laity in Nigeria. Some provisions by John Paul II demands urgent attention and consideration. In are not specific. The minimum age is given as _a fully mature adult, some churches, priests spend over 45 minutes distributing Holy a criterion that is relative. Secondly, even though the new Code does Comr~n~mon at Sunday Masses, if there are no major seminarians not contain the faculty for episcopal conferences to apply to the or religious Brothers available. Apostolic See for new ministries, it is certain that the faculty given While some diocese have done something in the area of ministries Ministeria quaedam is still there since the CBCN has not made any for lay people, most of the diocese, especially in the South eastern proposals for new ministries for lay people, diocesan bishops in part of the country, have shown no interest in the matter. I will Nigeria can, install lay men only into the two ministries established oxamine the factors responsible for this situation. by the universal law. We will soon see how far they have done so. IIJ. FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SITUATION 11.2 THE SITUATION AS REGARDS MINISTRIES FOR LAY PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH IN NIGERIA Many factors are responstbls for the general lack of interest and action in the area of ministries for lay people. Some of the factors A survey of the situation as regards ministries for lay people in mentioned by those who responded to the questionnaire are: the various dioceses in Nigeria was undertaken by means of a prevalence of non-formal ministries, clericalism, conservatism and questionnaire which I sent to all the diocesan bishops, to the ~ ar of further stratification of the Catholic community. I will Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria. The response was sufficient to analyse these factors. give a general picture of the situation in the Church in Nigeria as regards ministries for lay people. The overall picture is that nothing (II.I Prevalence of non-formal ministries much has happened in the country in this area. Bishop John Onaiyekan summed un the situation very well when he wrote: Among the responses, the major reason given was the abundance of '_'noi:i-formal" ministries. The laity in Nigeria have been very If little or nothing has happened in the area of lay mini• active m the Church. Fr. Vincent Nwosu concluded from his study stries, it is certainly not because Rome won't allow us (12) that the contribution of the laity to the growth of the Christian churches, especially the Catholic Church, was greater and more
4 of t~e ~lergy to do work (in their place). This position is far from complex than had hitherto been realized or acknowledged, and he realistic. ~he average priest-to-lay person ratio in Nigeria is 1:5000. projected that the future role of the laity would continue to be very In some dioceses the ratio is more alarming. A priest in Yola diocese 13 important, if not crucial, in Nigeria . Bishop Onaiyekan stated as loo~ after 49 miss~on stations, some over 100 kilometres from the much: parish centre. The insufficiency of ordained ministers is the rule rather than the exception in Nigeria. Our country has a good record of lay participation in the inner life of the Church ... In many communities, especially 111.2 Influence of clericalism where priests are not available, it is normal that the laity Another reason given for the relative inaction on this point is the lead public worship, administer emergency baptism and 14 effect of the clericalization of ministries in the Church. Both the conduct ritual services like burial and blessings • clergy and the laity in Nigeria are accustomed to the view that ~hurch ministry is.the preserve of the ordained. The Church itself It is evident that lay people in Nigeria have performed and is called "Father's Church" or "the priest's church" "(Uka Fada" in continue to perform, the functions of readers, Mass-servers, or• the lgbo lan~age). This mentality constitutes an effective blockage ganists, choristers, ushers, church wardens, leaders and conductors t~ the extension of formal ecclesiastical ministries to lay people. In ·of sunday services and funeral services, and teachers of Christian his reply to the questionnaire, a diocesan secretary (who is a priest) doctrine. These and other services regarded as non-formal mini• wrote: stries have been carried out by lay people without any special installation. lt is accurate to say that many catholic communities There is a high degree of inhibition to let lay people into an live, work, worship and pray under the guidance of lay people area that is prejudicially looked upon as a preserve of without any ecclesiastical deputation or installation. The catechists people set apart for the service of God. are virtually pastors of their communities like the Mokambi wa paroisee, lay parish moderators/animators in the archdiocese of While this at~itude m~~ account for the reluctance at making lay . h 15 Kins asa, z air. e . people extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, it is harder to see Readers, either ad hoc or members of Readers' Associations, why there is any inhibition about installing lay men as lectors and abound and perform satisfactorily. Sacristans, and Mass-servers acolytes'. since lay men and in some cases lay women are already who have a National Association of Altar Knights, perform most of p~rformmg some of the functions of lectors and acolytes. Perhaps the functions of an acolyte. So, there is little incentive to install history can shed some light on this issue. The ministries of lector people into the stable ministry of either Lector or acolyte. It would nnd acolyte are successors to minor orders, which were reserved to seem that most Catholics in Nigeria do not think that the ministries cleri_cs. It obviously takes time for both the clergy and the laity to for lay people are of pastoral necessity or urgency. Bishop extricate these ministries from their clerical -matrix. Onaiyekan brings out this attitude from the point of view of bishops: Clericalism manifests itself in various forms. On the part of the clergy, it can constitute an obstacle to the admission of lay people I imagine the question is whether we consider them (min• j nto areas of church ministry and apostolate traditionally reserved istries) necessary or very useful - a question of pastoral l.11 the clergy. The clergy, jealous of their prerogatives, would see necessity or convenience-which is not always easy to I Ito installation oflay people into official ecclesiastical ministries as 16 resolve . U 1ti first stage of an invasionstrategy by the laity into the preserves uf' the clergy. . A lay person, however, stated that there was no need for lay people to be installed as ministers because there was a sufficient number 'I 6 On the other hand, clericalism can affect the laity in a negative plained by the inferior position of women in the male-dominated way. They would want to remain at a safe distance from sacred Nigerian traditional society. A more compelling reason is the cul tic things, leaving it to the priests and other people set apart to handle L~boo~ attached to womanhood in some parts of the country, espe• those sacred things. Lay people are not expected to handle them. In cia lly m lgboland (18).SomeCatholicdioceses in the West and North many places in Nigeria, lay people are not allowed to handle sacred (especially Yola and Maiduguri) allow religious women to function vessels. They have to use white cloth to carry them if they have to llS Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist. handle them. This may in part explain the diffidence of many lay people in Nigeria to accept a call to ministry. A bishop reported that fll.3 Conservatism in the Church in Nigeria the laity refused to co-operate when he wanted to introduce mini• Another problem that has hindered the implementation of the stries for lay people in his diocese. canonical provisions for the stable ministries of Lector and acolyte The effect of the clericalization and sacralization of ministries in u nd the Extraordinary Ministry of the Eucharist is conservatism. It the Church is most felt in the question of making lay people Extraor• iR true that the line between courageous initiative and pastoral dinary Ministers of the Eucharist. Even though many lay people ir:esp~nsibility is often difficult to draw, (19) but some bishops in who responded to the questionnaire wanted lay people to be com• Nigeria are not prepared to take any risk at all for fear of the missioned to distribute Holy Communion, they themselves reported uccusation of novelty and the disruptive effect of change. The normal that lay people did not want lay people to distribute Holy Com• '.'X~~se_ is tha~ the pe~ple are not yet ready or mature enough for the munion. They would rather not receive Holy Communion from initiative or innovation. Lay people, especially in the dioceses in fellow lay persons. The reason given was that the lay person was south-eastern Nigeria normally resist changes in the Church. Many considered to be contaminated with the evils of the society and was, uf them would want the Church, its liturgical services and organiza• therefore, unworthy to touch the Communion, let alone give it to tion, to continue to be as they were during the days of the early white others. This reasoning betrays a rather negative self image on the rnissionaries. Many of them mourn the loss of the glory of the church part of the lay person. The real issue, however, is not the holiness because of the change from la tin to the vernacular. This attitude of or sinfulness of lay people. It is rather, that the clergy and all those Lhe hierarchy and lay people towards change has affected the who put on clerical garb, such as major seminarians and religious fortunes of inculturation, for example, of liturgical rites in Nigeria men, are regarded as people set apart for sacred things. These can (20). give Holy Communion to the people. The attitude to religious women is mixed. In the early '70s, the Ill.4 Fear of creating classes in the Church attempt to permit religious women to help in the distribution of Holy Communion in the then Archdiocese of Onitsha met with stiff Another factor responsible for the relative inaction of the bishops resistance. The people of Adazi Parish, which was selected as the 111 the matter of ministries for lay people is the fear of further experimental area, led a delegation to the Archbishop of Onitsha t ratification in the catholic community. It is clear that with instal• calling for the immediate stop to the experiment. The opposition lut.ion as ecclesiastical ministers, lay people so installed will have a stemmed more from cultural factors than any other factor. In prom inent place in the community. Given the people's penchant for African Traditional Religion, women are not given cultic functions I illus and titles, the installation may be perceived as similar to the in community celebrations. There are priestesses; but they per• 1 on ferment of a chieftaincy title, which confers honour, prestige and formed their functions in religious ceremonies strictly reserved for prnminence on the recipient. This might create a class within the women (17). The exclusion of women from cultic functions in 111ml community, a class whose identity would be hard to define. It ceremonies in which men participate may not be completely ex- 1 , perhaps, this danger that made two Nigeria bishops, Archbishop
8 II Peter Jatau of Kaduna and Bishop John Onaiyekan, sound a note moving from makeshift and ad hoc structures and organizations of warning. According to Bishop John Onaiyekan. characteristic of mission churches to stably constituted organisa• tions. Many of the dioceses have established Pastoral Councils, I think it is necessary to stress that lay ministries are lay Finance Committees and Laity Councils at both the diocesan and ministries, for lay people. It does not make clerics out of parish levels. them, or remove them from the ranhso] the laitY._. It should These developments raise the hopes that the Church in Nigeria be clear that these ministries are conferred not as honorary will come to appreciate the necessity of lay people sharing fully in a titlesor rewards for good deeds but rather to give official ministerial way, in the communion of the Church, a communion recognition to and promote roles of lay service (m inisters - which, in the words of John Paul II is: 1 to serve) within the Church 2 . characterized by diversity and complementarity of voca• The fears are real. The special status claimed by the knights, both tions, and states of life, of ministers, of charisme and papal and ordinary, life members of the Catholic Women Organiza• responsiblities. Because of this diversity, every member of tion, the complex and now controversial positions of Baba- I/? and the lay faithful is seen in relation to the whole body and Iya [Jo (Father and Mother of the Church re~pectively, as marks ?f offers a totally unique contribution on behalf of the whole honour and distinction to a man and woman m the Yoruba Catholic body22 communities) make real the fears of the bishops. Installation into stable ministries may create a class oflay men who regard themsel• It is quite true that lay people without the stable ministries are ves as mini-clerics or super laymen, with the frustration which t~at already contributing to the growth of the Church. However, the .will bring to those concerned -confusion in the Catholic commumt_y installation of lay people as ministers according to the needs of the and conflicts in Church organization. This is a real.problem but 1t Church will bring out the participation of the laity in the ministerial i& not insurmountable as we will see later. community which is the Church. It is important to point out that the need of'the Church is not to IV PROSPECTS OF.MINIS'l'RIES FOR LAY PEOPLE h identified with the need of the clergy. If the need of the Church IN NIGERIA I ir1 limited to the need of the clergy, lay people will be installed as ministers when the clergy need their help. For supply and by ad The present situation of ministries fop-lay 'Fl~~ple in ~igeria ~ncl. t empus deputation of lay people in liturgical celebrations, that may the problems associated with them seem to heavily a_gamst }~1g? hi the case. But that should not be the case for stable ministries. their development. However, changes are- tak1?g p~ace m t~e 'I'ho need of the Church as a community - the living, worshiping Church in Nigeria which will definitely alt~r,,tb.e situation. W,e will ,·ommunity-is to be taken into account. The Church in Nigeria needs note the changes in the understar:iding of the Church and m the officially- installed lay ministers to work hand in hand with the formation of the laity in Nigeria as important factors that make one ,·IPrgy to bear eloquent testimony to the diversity and complemen• confidently predict the coming of age of a Church, with a variety of t 1, ri ty of roles and ministries which characterize the Church as a ministries and services open to lay people. · rummuriion. IV.I New understanding of the nature of the Church The installation of stable ministers will not do away with non• lm•rno.l ministries. Rather it will ensure that qualified and trained The Church in Nigeria is coming of age. It is over 100 years old, 1'1 rsonnel, who are so installed, are available to coordinate and and the trend in most dioceses is that the particular churches-are «voraee the services rendered by non-formal ministers. The decree
10 11 of the CBCN provides that the installed Lectors have the respon• thing but to the service of the community. sibility of conducting teaching sessions for those appointed to read on an ad hoc basic, while the acolyte will be in charge of training IV.3 Prospects for new ministries 23 mass servers . The advantage is that the community will have reliable lay people who are in charge of those services and who have The Canon Law Society of Nigeria in its concluding statement at its annual Conference wrote: been formally trained to render them. IV.2 Formation of the Laity There is need for the Church in Nigeria to make more use of~ xi~ting_ministri_es and no longer shy away from actually The laity in Nigeria are becoming aware of the need to know more bringing in and installing the laity to those ministries and more about the Church-its teachings, law and organization. which are allowed by Canon, Law. Ifp ossible, the Church The Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria has embarked on a in Nigeria should take steps to establish more ministries, programme to liberate the laity in Nigeria from ignorance, apathy like the ministry of Catechists26 and marginalization. The council accepted the concept of MOBILAITY ( Mobilization of the Laity) because it realized that a . The case f~r the ministries of lector and acolyte already estab• lot of talents and other resources among the people of God in Nigeria hshed by universal law and complemented by the provisions of 24 are at present not adequately harnessed . This has resulted in the particular law has been sufficiently made. What is needed now is programme for the mobilization of the laity for intelligent and active action by the diocesan bishops in their various dioceses to imple• participation in Church life. ment these provisions as the need of the Church dictates and for the The programme involves, first and foremost, the doctrinal forma• good of ecclesial communion. tion of the laity. Lay people are now taught not only the mysteries . Even though these established ministries are not yet generally of the faith but also canon law. The dispelling of ignorance goes implemented in Nigeria, we still have the prospect for new and hand in ha Rd with the removal of prejudices and the building up of varie~ ministries for the Church in Nigeria. The report of a study• a strong, confident body oflay men and women who know their place committee set up by the CBCN called for the establishment of the and role in the ecclesial communion. The anticipated result would stahle ~inistries of ~oly C~m:¥,iunion, readers, sacristans and be a greater awareness on the part of lay people of the genuine leadership of community service . The Canon Law Commission of equality of dignity and action which they enjoy in the Church and the CBCN made a proposal for the installation of catechists into a which empowers them, according to canon 208, to contribute, each canoru. ca IIy recogni. ze d rni. ni. stry 28 Th ese recommendations show according to his or her condition and office, to the building up of the Lhat new ministries are needed in the Church in Nigeria. These Body of Christ. This awareness is expected to lead to metanoia, not recommendations are no mere academic exercise but reflect the only on the intellectual level but also on the level of attitudes. And pastoral needs of the people of God. · this will definitely affect their diffident attitude towards ministry We can see how the pastoral needs of the community determine by fellow lay people and their uncomplimentary and discriminatory , I he call for new ministries. The pastoral experience of Marcel Boivin attitudes towards women. 111 the diocese ofRulenge, Tanzania, for example, led him to give the Proper catechetical formation of the laity on the meaning of f'olJowing tableau of both the communities' Christian needs and of ecclesiastical ministry will go a long way to inculcate a proper I ho ministries which should come into existence to answer them: understanding of Church ministry as service, after the image of 5 1. Prayer - Prayer-leader, (in Swahili: Msalishi) Christ who came to serve and not to be served 2 • This will help them to understand that installation as a minister is not a title to any- 2. Education - Education-animator (mlezi)
12 3. Material Welfare - Provider l,M employed two hundred and sixty catechists on full-time basis. 'I'l. y we:e given formal and informal training before they were 4. Spiritual iife Spiritual Counsellor (Mhu'ishi) lurrnally installed. While this installation does not confer ecclesias- 5. Fraternal love Peacemaker (Mjima) 11<'111 ministry properly speaking, it gives catechists and the catholic - Matrimonial adviser (Mnyumba) 1 ummunity a heightened sense of the mission of the catechists in 6. Marriage 1111 communion of the Church. .. I .)29 6. Unity - Servant (M tumie u In ~y ~pinion~ the formal establishment of the ministry of This table shows,how the needs of the commu_nity de_termine the 1 ntechists 1s a crymg need for the Church in Nigeria. The Catholic ministries to be established for it. Secondly, 1t p~ov1des for the I l1Hhops' Conference of Nigeria should apply to the Apostolic See for pastoral involvement of the l~y people in all the major areas of the 1 I establishment. The candidates for this ministry should be care• I 11 I ly selected from men and women of good repute, who are prepared life of the Christian community...... In Nigeria, scholars have proposed various ministries to meet the I II clevo~e th~ms~lves to the work of teaching, instructing, organizing needs of the Catholic communities. Rev. Fr. Ben. Etaf~ advocated 111d am~atmg m the Catholic community. They should undergo an the establishment of the new ministries o_f c~mmumty l~aders, 11ppr~pr1ate course, for a suitable length of time, in Christian . rs and of those who zive humanitarian and social ser- 1 l n ·trme, Church law, Church administration and catechetics before evange I1ze , . i:,• • · C · '30 Bishop Gbuji a canonist and the Chairman of the a~on 11 Hy are installed. After their installation, the catechetics should vices . ' . f th " II · · f'the CBCN called for the creation o e 10 owing Jll'llUdly exercise their ministry of teaching and pastoral care with La w C omm1ss10n o . . ministries in response to the needs of the New ~ra of eva_ngehzation 1111 full public authority conferred on them by the Church. in Nigeria: coordination, evangelization, worship, teaching and ser- The establishment of the stable ministry of catechists will ensure . 3T . I lint a crop of dedicated, well-trained and properly motivated lay v1c;he ministries suggested above reflect the needs of the_ C_hu~ch p11ople is at the service of the Church to carry on the work of · N" · I wish to make a special case for _two new ministries • vn ngelization and catechesis. This will also provide for needed m igeria. . . · · th Ch h which to my mind demand most urgent attention m e_ urc p11Mtoral leadership in the Catholic community. Unlike lectors and m· N.i geri· a tod. ay . These minist. ries are those of catechists and «-olysee, the ministry of catechists should be open to men. and healers/exorcists. omen. And for the catechists to be completely devoted to their vnrk , they should be adequately remunerated, since the labourer is IV.3.i The ministry of Catechists "11rthy of his hire. Catechists were, are and will continu~ to be t?e workh?r5es of the I V .3.ii The ministry of exorcists/healers Church in Nigeria. Unfortunately, their role is not ~mformly ap• preciated. In some parts of the country, they are ~ot given adeq~;t~ 'l'he concern of the people in Nigeria with spiritual or faith• 32 training and recognition. Most of them wo~k withou_t any so o t,,•n ling has been highlighted in many studies . This concern has training. Many of them are part-time catechists, a~d m m~t cases · I, d to the proliferation of "Healing Homes" and "Prayer Houses" the work in mission stations where there is no res1dent_pnest. ~he ,1d ide the Catholic Church and to the rise of Catholic Prayer res~lt is that most catechists do a lot of ':"o.rk but ~till f~nct1on 1111 is tries for people with problems. People are plagued with real inefficiently because they lack adequate t~inmg and mcenti~e:. 11111 imagined attacks of evil spirits, demonic possession, obsessions, The diocese of Yola however, provides a_ happy example;. ow nllucnces of unclean spirits, satanic powers, infernal invaders, catechists are properly employed, trained and deployed. The iocese 11•ked legions, assemblies and sects, mermaids, mammy water and 33 1 mcarnation. etc. . This phenomenon cannot be dismissed with a 14 I• The demands of ecclesial communion and the pastoral needs· of wave of the hand as imagination, superstition and ignorance. It Lhe community of faith and worship make the installation oflay men represents actual fears and concerns of the people and therefore to the ministry of lector and acolyte and the deputation of lay men demands a pastoral response. und women to act as Extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist a Traditional-healers and faith-healers abound. Like the profes• necessity. Education of the laity in faith and church discipline is sional religious functionaries of traditional religion (34), priests are needed to conscientize them on their dignity and responsibility in generally the healers and leaders of the Catholic Prayer Healing the Church and to remove their spirit of diffidence with regards to Movements (35). Even though there are lots of controversies over uccepting the ministry of lay men and women. the practices of some Catholic priests in the healing ministry, I believe that· the Church in Nigeria has a prophetic role to play ranging from their theological perceptions of the problem to their in the education of the people regarding their attitude towards actual practices, which some see as either superstitious or encourag• women. Even though the cultural bias against women in the tradi• ing superstition, the aspect which interests me here is the participa• tional Nigerian society seems to correspond to the exclusion of tion of lay people in the healing ministry. women from sacred ministry and from the stable ministries of'Iector Many lay people both in and outside the Charismatic Renewal und acolyte in the Church, the Church needs to review its attitude Movement, have the charism of healing and, when not given a free towards women in the Church in order to be truly "the light of the hand, often leave the Catholic Church to be free to engage in their nations". It is difficult to sustain, on theological grounds, the ex• own faith-healing ministry. The Church needs to intervene in order clusion of women from the ministries that are open to non-ordained to provide guidelines that respect personal charisms among the people since these ministries are no longer linked necessarily with faithful, whether priests or lay people, and at the same time put lloly Orders (which are still reserved to men). order in the community so that healing will not be a free-for-all The National Laity Council of Nigeria aptly brings out the need scramble. The establishment of the ministry of healer/exorcists to integrate women fully into the Church's ministry. according to among lay people who manifest this charism will be a response to Lhe Council. the need of the community for deliverance and healing. At the same time, the activities of healers, both clerics and lay people, will be Since women constitute a significant majority of the brought under the vigilance and control of the Church. Hence I church, and since they have their distinctive talents and strongly recommend that the CBCN should study the casefor a ' gifts, the Church would be poorer without their active and ~ ll . . . 36 healing/exorcist ministry and and request its establishment for the 1 u participation . Church in Nigeria. By giving women equal access to ministries, office~ and ,:uncti~ns V. CONCLUSION that are open to non-ordained people, the Church will be teaching the nations" the equality of men and women before God. Such I have presented the situation of ecclesiastical ministries in the toaching will help the people of Nigeria to overcome the negative Church in Nigeria. We have seen that the Catholic Bishops' Con• r10cio-cultural attitude to women in Nigeria and dispel the ignorance ference of Nigeria has made the necessary provisions required by that originality generated the cultic taboos surrounding woman- universal law for the ministries of lector and acolyte for lay men. In hood. practice, however very few lay men have been installed in any Finally, with the laity in Nigeria given the opport~nity to ~xercise ministry. There is reluctance on the part of the bishops and the lay .he ministries open to them-not in parallel service but m close people themselves towards deputing lay people to act as Extraordi• ,·ollaboration and communion with the sacred ministers - and with nary Ministers of the Eucharist. There is even greater prejudice against allowing women to distribute Holy Communion. 17 16 new _min!·stri_es established _according to the needs of the people of God m N 1gcna: the Church_ in Nigeria will show itself a ministering FEP Publishers Ltd, Onitsha, 1990, p. 146. complementarity community characterized by diversity and com• plementary of vocations, functions and roles in the building up of 14. Bishop Onaiyekan, cit., p. 10 the Body of Christ. 15. See Salvatore Coppo, 'A Truly African Church Structure - Lay People's Participation', in Spearhead, no. 99, Gaba Pub• lications, December 1987, pp. 3-9. The Mokambi directs REFERENCES parish life and is completely in charge of the parish. 16. Bishop John Onaiyekan, cit. 1. Paul _VI, Motu Proprio, 'Ministeria quaedam', 15 August 1972 m Acta Apostolicae Sedis 64 (1972), pp. 529-534. 17. S. I. Bosah mentions the priests and priestesses of Udo shrine in Onitsha in Grourulioord of the History and Culture 2. S~e _Elissa Rinere, 'Conciliar and Canonical Applications of of Onitsha, Onitsha, p. 168. ministry to the Laity' in The Jurist, 47(1987), pp. 204-227. According to G.T. Basden, menstruation is a source ofritual 3. 18. Paul VI, 'Ministeria quaedam', nos. 1 & II. uncleanness. See G. T. Basden,Niger lbos, Frank Cass & Co. Paul VI, 'Ministeria quaedam', no. III. Ltd, 1966, p. 61. Mary Douglas reported the same taboos among the Lele of Kasai. A strict ritual exclusion of women 5. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, 'Christifideles laici', 30 from men on so many occasion was explained thus: 'sexual December 1988. intercourse and menstruation are dangerous to all male 6. 'Christifideles laici', no. 23 activities ... AB women are both highly vulnerable and highly 7. polluting some separation of male and female spheres is ~ee M~rcel Boivi~, 'New Ministr-ies: From Dream to Reality', indicated, Daryl! Forde, ed., African Worlds, University in African Ecclesiastical Review (AFER), 23, no. 5 (October Press, Oxford, 1954, p. 7. ~981), pp. 260-264; 'Laity in the Renewing Church: Visions and Opportunities', in The Jurist, 4 7(1987), p. 7 19; Bishop John Onaiyekan, cit., p.Ll. 8. CBCN, Particular Complementary Norms to the Revised 2' 0. See Ikenga R. A. Ozigbo's scathing criticism of the record of Code, pµ. 4-5. Particular Norms. This is a summary of the the Church in Nigeria in liturgical innovations, indigeniza• norms. tion of Catechetics, Liturgy and the Christian message, in Ikenga R. A. Ozigbo, Igbo Catholicism, The Onitsh.a Connec• 9. CBCN, Particular Norms, p. 6 tion 1967-1984. pp. 32-35, 116-118. See also more sober 10. CBCN, Particular Norms, p. 6 assessment in Basil Kanayo Nwazojie, 'The Nigerian Hierar• chy and Liturgical Inculturatiori in the Nigerian Church', in 11. CBCN, Particular Norms, pp. 6-7 Lnculturatioti in Nigeria, Proceedings of Catholic Bishops' 12. Bishop John Onaiyekan, 'The Laity and the Priesthood in Study Session, November 1988, pp. 68-69. the Church', A Keynote address at the National Canon Law 21. Bishop John Onaiyekan, op. cit., p. 11; See also Archbishop Conference, Ibadan, 26 March 1987 (Unpublished); p. 10. Peter Y. Jatau, 'Pastoral Approaches to the Formation of 13. Vincent A. Nwosu, The Laity and the Growth of the Catholic Laity Leaders', in G. A. Ojo and D. M. Nwadike, eds., Laity Church in Nigeria, The Onitsha Story 1903-1983, African- Mobilization, Training and Formation, Catholic Laity Coun• cil of Nigeria Publication, 1990, p. 4?. 18 I') 22. John Paul II, 'Christifideles laici', no. 20 way Books Ltd; Emmanuel Eni, Delivered from the Powers - 23. CBCN, Particular Norms, p.6 of Darkness, Scripture Union Press, Ibadan. The phenomenon is not surprising because· the traditional 24. G. A. Ojo and D. M. Nwadike, eds., Laity Mobilization, religion has a myriad of spirits and deities that must be Training and Formation, cit., p. 78. appeased - See S. I. Bosah, op. cit., pp. 123-141; A. Shorter, 25. Mark 10:45 African Culture and the Christian Church, Geoffery Chap• man, London, 1973, pp. 23-24, 134; E. Ikenga-Metuh, Com• 26. Canon Law Society of Nigeria, Newsletter, vol. 2 No. parative Studies ofA frican Traditional Religions, Inico Pub• 2(December 1991), p. 13, 23. lishers, Onitsha, 1987, pp. 161-177; G. T. Basden,Niger lbos, 27. See C. U. Ogu, 'Training for lay Ministries in Nigeria', cit., pp. 59, 61, 193, 413. Unpublished, p. 2. :111. See G. T. Basden, op. cit., pp. 54-55; E. Ikenga-Metuh, 28. See CBCN, Particular Norms, p. 7. Comparative Studies of African Traditional Religions, cit., pp. 213-141. 29. Marcel Boivin, 'New Ministries: From Dream to Reality', in AFER, 23, no. 5(October 1981), pp. 261-262. :JG. The most famous ones are Fr. Godwin Ikeobi at Onitsha, Fr. Emmanuel Ede at Elele, Fr. Osigwe at Lagos. There are 30. See Ben Etafo, 'The Triplex-Munera of the Laity in Praxis: many upcoming ones too numerous to list here. A canonical perspective', unpublished paper presented at the National Canon Law Conference, Ibadan, pp. 14-15. :IG. G. A. Ojo and D. M. Nwadike, eds., Laity Mobilization, Training and Formation, cit., p. 79. 31. See Bishop Anthony Gbuji, 'Ministries in the service of the New Era of Evangelization', unpublished paper at the 1991 Canon Law Conference at Abuja, pp. 23-24.
32. See G. Ikeobi, 'The Healing Ministry and Igbo Christianity', Rev. Dr. Hilary Okeke is a lecturer at the Catholic Institute of in E. Uzukwu, ed., Religion and African Culture, Spiritan \.\''i·:3t Africa, Port-Harcourt, Nigeria. Publications, 1988, pp. 191-201; E. Milingo, The World in ' Between, Christain Healing and Struggle for Spiritual Sur• vival, Daystar Press, Ibadan, 1986. 33. See N. N diokwere, Prophecy and Revolution, Speck, London, 1981, pp. 114-122; Adrian Hastings African Chrstianity, Geoffery Chapman, London and Dublin, 1976, pp. 60-76; G. Ikeobi, 'Catholic Response to the Challenge of Prayer Houses - The Origins of Tuesday Prayers in Onitsha', in. V. A. Nwosu, ed., The Catholic Church in Onitsha, People, places and events 1885-1985, Etukokwu Press Ltd, 1985, pp. 261- 275; N. Ndiokwere, Search for Security, Freedom from sinister Forces that threaten Life in African Society, 1990, p. 28, 39-53; A Notebook on the Devils and Exorcism, Lead-