Cardinal John Onaiyekan, former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, has urged Nigerians to speak out against injustice, warning that silence was tantamount to complicity.
The Emeritus Archbishop said: “As Catholic Bishops, we are often interviewed and make powerful political statements. Nobody can stop us from doing that because it is part of our job. We have a responsibility to teach the right things, even if it means facing criticism from politicians. “We teach the right things, but it’s up to those concerned to take the teaching and work on it. We don’t have the facility to force politicians to do the right thing; we only have the word of mouth, our message.
“We must continue to proclaim the message of social justice loudly and clearly, as the Catholic Church has a long tradition of teaching. We must work towards creating a more just and equitable society, and we must act to make it happen.”Rev. Fr. Uche Obodoechina, Director of the Department of Church and Society, explained that the CST programme was designed to equip staff of the Bishops’ agencies with comprehensive knowledge of CST, enabling them to teach others and spread the message.
Prof. Hyacinth Ichoku, the Vice Chancellor of Veritas University, emphasized in his keynote address that everyone had a role to play in promoting social justice, regardless of their status.