Catholic archbishop calls for for chastity, condemns nudity

Most Revd Adewale Martins

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Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins.

Archbishop Adewale Martins of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos on Thursday condemned the recent attitude where some youths promoted nudity instead of chastity in the name of

The prelate spoke during the final profession of seven Reverend Sisters of the Congregation of Eucharistic Heart of Jesus (EHJ) at Saint Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland in Lagos.

“Our musicians and the entertainment industry as a whole do not care about morality and fear of God anymore.
“They are busy promoting nudity through their profession,” he said.

The prelate urged Nigerians to pray for God’s mercy so that both the young and the old would be able to uphold chastity and practise obedience at the expense of nudity.

Martins said that the world had lost obedience and respect for chastity and morality and thus thrown morals and decency to the winds.

According to him, freedom has been mistaken for licence and that is one of the reasons why the world we live in today has lost the conscience of decency and morality.

He said that the world, comprising those in the religious circle and the rest of the society had stopped seen the need to practise chastity.

“There is no more obedience to chastity; we need to pray for our priests and religious so that they will be able to avoid the various challenges facing them in the world.

He said that as the Catholic Church throughout the world celebrated the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary today, they should also uphold chastity which she symbolised during her lifetime.

He said, “Let us congratulate these seven sisters and their families for this life of sacrifice because we are able to gather around these sisters who had been renewing their temporary vows in the past eight years.

“This profession is made possible because they have decided to live that life of chastity by taking their vows to commit their lives to total obedience, chastity and service of God,” he said.

The archbishop in his advice to the newly professed sisters urged them not to abuse the vows and the promise of total obedience and chastity they had made.

Martins reminded them that the opportunities they had to see this day was given to them by God.

“By this vow-taking, all of you have become the brides of Christ; but you must never abuse this call and vow.

“You must keep the vows you are making today and be faithful to it as spouses of Jesus. It is not an easy life in the midst of an unfriendly world,” he said.

He also appealed to the faithful to pray for the priests and religious for the grace to be faithful to their calling.

“The world is not friendly to the values of the religious calling with crave for gathering of unnecessary wealth and possessions.

“It is the wicked world where citizens prefer to kidnap and murder people for material gains, a world where sexual pleasure has become an idol.

“This is one of the reasons why the vice of rape has become the order of the day; no more respect for virginity, gender and minors,” he said.

He also called for prayers for Nigeria to reduce insecurity and bandits tormenting innocent citizens.

“As we celebrate the Assumption of our Mother Mary today, let us pray for our young girls and the spirit of chastity in the world, especially, among the religious.

“Indeed, all cannot be lost because God is merciful at all times and ready to make amends for the lost sheep,” he said.

The seven who had their final profession are Srs Mary-Grace Lawani, Mary-Bibiana Ikpeen, Dorothy Dangi, Mary-Helen and Stella-Maria Okoroafor.

Others are Srs Fidelia-Maria Amune and Lucia-Marie Sylvanus, who are the only two from the Archdiocese of Lagos.

Sr Sylvanus speaking expressed her joy and then urged young girls to be optimistic about joining the religious life.

Sr Bibianna Ikpeen from Makurdi Diocese identified determination as the keyword to success and encouraged others to be determined.

She said, “No vocation is easy, it all demands commitment and sincerity.’’

The Superior-General of the EHJ Congregation, Rev. Sr Mary-Agatha Osarenkhoe, EHJ, graced the celebration.

Also, His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, the Archbishop Emeritus of Lagos, several priests, Rev. Sisters and Catholic faithful attended the mass.

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