Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke Archives

Polarizing Nigerian bishop backed by pope steps down

Feb 19, 2018

An embattled bishop who has not been able to set foot in his diocese in Nigeria for over five years has resigned his position, saying it is “no longer beneficial to the Church” for him to hold his position, just over eight months after Pope Francis threatened to suspend any priest who refused to accept him.

Unprecedented crisis in Nigerian diocese still not resolved
- Oct 28, 2017
Over four months after Pope Francis demanded that the priests of the Nigerian Diocese of Ahiara accept the 2012 appointment of Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke, the bishop still has not stepped foot in his diocese. The case reflects the ethnic tensions affecting the Church in southern Nigeria, and a resolution to the crisis might require a new approach from the Vatican.

By Father Alvan Amadi
After dramatic papal threat, Nigerian diocese remains badly split
- Sep 16, 2017
In an extremely complicated dispute in the Nigerian Diocese of Ahaira, even a papal threat to suspend every last priest there doesn’t seem to have stopped the infighting over the controversial appointment of a new bishop five years ago. The two sides remain bitterly divided, accusing one another of being “satanic” and “corrupt,” and right now it’s not even clear the new bishop can set foot in the diocese.

By Inés San Martín
Troubled Nigerian diocese urged to ‘put grievances aside,’ accept bishop
- Aug 23, 2017
Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, president of the Nigerian bishops’ conference, is urging priests in his country’s Ahaira diocese to accept a bishop appointed by Benedict XVI and confirmed by Francis, even though he comes from outside the diocese’s majority ethnic and linguistic group. While some priests say they’re ready to comply with whatever the pope decides, that doesn’t mean the underlying grievances are resolved.

By Inés San Martín