Holy Crime: Parishioners in Total Shock as Catholic Priest Shoots Colleague in Imo Community...See Details
There was confusion in the minds of
members of the congregation at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in in Isiala
Mbano Council area of Imo State after a priest shot his assistant over a
disagreement that turned violent
Rev. Fr. Christian Amusuo, the parish
priest of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Eziama Osuama in Isiala Mbano
Council area of Imo State, may have sown doubt and confusion in the
minds of members of his congregation on what to do with Jesus Christ’s
teaching on love, peace and anger management, as recorded in the
scriptures, with his alleged shooting of his assistant, identified as
Fr. Precious over a disagreement that turned violent on June 23, this
year.
Although the victim survived the gun
attack, it has stirred a major scandal in the parish, with police arrest
of the trigger-happy priest, who has also been suspended from office by
the Bishop of Okigwe Catholic Diocese, Anthony Ilonu.
While the bishop was said to have been
very furious about the scandalous behaviour of Amusuo, the incident has
also left the parishioners shocked and in dilemma on the apparently poor
moral example demonstrated by their shepherd.
The church members said the shooting
incident was the climax of an intractable personal problem between the
two priests, noting that the parish priest had allegedly accused his
assistant of flouting his orders in the past.
One of the parishioners told Saturday
Sun that the clash was an open secret in the church, but noted that the
parishioners could not intervene as they lacked the power over the
priests.
His words: “We had noticed that the
two priests had been having a running battle before we heard the sad
news that the parish priest had shot his assistant after a heated
argument. We also learnt that Fr. Amusuo had often complained that his
Assistant always disobeyed his instructions and that had always been a
source of friction between the two priests and we as laity cannot
intervene in their matter, because they are supposed to be our
shepherds. It is only the Bishop of the Okigwe Diocese who can settle
their matter. So, we are not surprised that their quarrel degenerated to
that extent, which is very sad”.
He remarked that the gun attack was sacrilegious as the priest should have taken the case to their superior.
A member of the Catholic Women
Organization in the church, who did not want her name in print, said
church members were shocked when they heard of the incident, but noted
that no matter the provocation, the parish priest, as a man of God,
should not have done what he did.
“We are not happy that our parish is
in the news for the wrong reasons, because what had happened should not
have happened in the first instance . We as mothers of the church know
how to handle such problem if they were not priests. But we are
powerless to act in the matter, because we don’t really know the main
cause. But, we heard that Father Amusuo and Father Precious, who is the
assistant, had been quarreling over administrative issues.”
She suggested that the bishop should sanction them, especially the assistant priest, as he was supposed to be loyal to his boss. “If
he is not comfortable working with his boss, he should have asked the
bishop to transfer him to another parish, instead of fighting, which is
not expected of priests,” she said.
However, an indigene of the community
Nweke Chibuzor, said it was disgraceful for a priest to assault his
colleague with a gun and advised that Amusuo be expelled from the church
to serve as deterrent to others.
“If a priest shoots his fellow
priest over a disagreement, what will he do to an ordinary person? As a
priest, if your assistant is stubborn, you have to pray to God for him
to change, not by shooting him. What if he had died? The priest would
have been standing for murder.”
Confirming the incident, the state
Police Public Relations Officer, Andrew Enwerem, said the Commissioner
of Police, Chris Ezike, had ordered immediate investigation into the
circumstances surrounding the incident.
He said the priest had been released, while the gun had been recovered from him.
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