Archbishop Okeke urges Catholic lawyers to assist in release of prisoners languishing in jail without committing any crime

By Ononye VC
The Archbishop of Onitsha and Metropolitan of Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province Most Rev Valerian Okeke, has made a passionate appeal to the National Association of Catholic Lawyers Onitsha Archdiocese,to continue to assist in securing release of prisoners who are languishing in jail without committing any crime.
The Archbishop made this appeal in a remark during a Thanksgiving Mass which he celebrated for members of the Association at the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity Onitsha,on Thursday.
The Archbishop expressed worries that some,if not most of the inmates were incarcerated because there was no one to assist them for their release or that they were framed-up for a crime they didn’t commit.
The Archbishop commended the Catholic lawyers and acknowledged that some of them were offering their services to the church pro-bono(free of charge)pointing out that some of the achievements of the church mentioned by the President of the association Sir Barr Azubike Anazor would not have been possible without the support of the faithful.
In another request,the Archbishop urged other Catholic lawyers who have not joined the association to do so inorder to serve as a team work to achieve the kingdom of God.
The homily which was delivered by Rev Fr (Barr) Justin Ileka centered on repentance and remorsefulness with a theme titled,”It is not enough to show remorse”.Fr Ileka said repentance was all that was needed to make amends and atone for one’s sins and that christians have ample opportunity to make amends now that they are still alive.
He thanked the Archbishop for squeezing out time from his tight and rigorous schedule to celebrate the Mass in the afternoon adding that it was a great sign of love for the Catholic lawyers.
In his vote of thanks before the end of the Mass,the President,National Association of Catholic Lawyers Archdiocese of Onitsha,Sir (Barr) Azubike Anazor,eulogized the Archbishop saying, that he has demonstrated exceptional love for the association and identified with it from inception.
Barrister Anazor described the Archbishop’s Episcopacy as “Spectacular and full of achievements”,naming some of the Archbishop’s milestone achievements as the convoking two synods,the Shanahan University,the Youth Village,the Oluchukwu Micro Finance Bank and other initiatives in scholarships to students and excellence in education by students of Archdiocesan mission schools.
The event ended with a dinner at the Archdiocesan secretariat.