By Olivia Obijiaku
Reacting to the legalization of homosexuality in some countries of the world, the Vocations Director of the Catholic Diocese of Zaria, Rev. Fr. Istifanus Katung has charged followers of Jesus Christ to live an authentic Christian life. The priest who gave this charge during the Mass he celebrated at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Sunday, November 17, 2024, also lamented that many of those who sponsor bills on homosexuality bear the mark of Christianity – by the virtue of their baptism or names.
The psycho-spiritual counsellor enjoined the faithful to defend the faith and the names they bear by embracing God and His dictates and by shunning ideas, lifestyle and teachings that are contrary to the faith that they profess.
“Forget about what the society is saying.” He admonished. “Let the God-factor come into our lives. We slept and woke up and people are celebrating homosexuality. They are saying that people have right to their own orientations – it is their body. I was listening to the news the other day and two female professors were advocating for pedophiles. They are saying that that is their orientation. That is how useless the society is becoming.”
“Someone wakes up from the wrong side of his bed and wants to push an agenda that you do not know where it is coming from. You want to sponsor that agenda, hook, line and sinker without knowing where the person is coming from. When you check the names of those sponsoring this kind of agenda, it is not very far from an Elizabeth. It is not very far from a John or a Stephen. It means that this is someone who was baptized in Christ, yet the one who is going against Christ. That is the unfortunate thing.”
“How do you contribute in destroying the temple of God? How do you destroy the Name of God? Do you promote Christ in your office? Do you promote Christ in your class? Do I promote Christ in my lifestyle as a priest? It is the same thing for all of us. There will be an end to everything that we are doing. And if it is true that what we do in the dark will be in the open someday, so why not do the right thing so that when it comes out, we will be proud of ourselves?”
“So, my dear friends in Christ, why are you in Church this morning? Is it a routine for you? Or have you come to have an encounter with God? And if you have come to have an encounter with God, what sort of encounter are you expecting to have? What is it for you? What does it mean for you to be a child of God? Is it just by name or by character? No, it is not just supposed to be just by name.”
“A lot of us in the Church are hypocrites. We do not live Christianity in its truest call. Otherwise, you can imaging the number of Churches that we have but there is no corresponding impact in the society. Why? Because we are hypocrites. If every one of us goes out there and creates an effect, there will be a chain reaction. But no. We go to Church may be because we were baptized or because we do not want people to think otherwise if we do not come to Church.”
“So, Christianity as a religion has become a garment that we wear. You are in your best element in Church. You turn to a different person the moment you leave the Church – though some persons do not even wait till they go out of the Church. Try them and you will see their element immediately. And so the question is, ‘What are we doing?’ Can you convincingly tell yourself that you are a child of God? Are you proud to be a child of God?”
Fr. Katung told them to keep working towards their salvation, intimating that God is not looking for a perfect child, but for someone who is making effort. He nudged them to acknowledge and open themselves for God so that, “He will come to you.”
