Onaiyekan urges religious leaders to live modest lives

The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has called on ordained men and women of God to live modest lives worthy of emulation.

Onaiyekan made the call on Sunday in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the Silver Jubilee celebration of Religious Vows of the Sister of Saint Louis.

During the celebration to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the sisterhood order, Rev. Sisters Catherine Ologunagba, Perpetua Idowu, and Felicia Alaba renewed their religious vow.

Onaiyekan expressed concern that instead of ensuring that souls were converted to God, some religious leaders were distracted by material wealth.

He said modesty should be the standard for anyone who pledges to serve God.

The Cardinal explained that though the body needs the material things to function, there should be a limit on how they are applied.

He said that Catholic Priests and Sisters do not live in poverty as the Church provides the best it could afford to make them comfortable.

He cautioned religious leaders who had access to wealth not display them on worldly acquisition to the detriment of the poor in society.

“Men of God should not parade their wealth in front of the poor to make them miserable.

“If you have excess wealth, you should distribute them among the poor,” he said

Onaiyekan urged priests to strive to keep to their religious vows to enable lay people of God emulate them and keep their marital vows.

“If we cannot be faithful to our vows, we cannot expect the lay faithful to be able to be faithful to their marital vows,” he said.