Why haven’t outspoken churchmen like Cardinal Okogie and Bishop Kukah spoken in support of the Four Cardinals?

Anthony Cardinal Okogie

by Jonathan Ekene Ifeanyi

On new year day, January 1, 2017, one of the prominent Nigerian newspapers featured the photos of “eminent Nigerians” who—according to the paper—shaped 2016. Among them was Anthony Cardinal Okogie, former Archbishop of Lagos. However, when I saw the Cardinal’s photo among those “eminent Nigerians”, I hissed. And why?

Well—before some accuse me of “attacking the cardinal”—I hissed, not because I hate the cardinal but because I knew why he was listed among those “eminent Nigerians”, and that was precisely because he is, truly, among the eminent Nigerians who have contributed immensely—and still contribute—to the growth of Nigerian democracy, and I mean a democracy which is simply anti-Christian. I also remembered the Dubia issue, and had no doubt that the cardinal, as a defender of “Pope” Francis, would never totally support the Four Cardinals—I think the “best” someone like him can do—were he to act—is to behave like Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, the archbishop of Durban, South Africa who defended Francis’ silence against the Four Cardinals but later contradicted himself in a recent interview by stating politically (and I quote):

“If someone in Germany who is divorced and civilly remarried can receive Communion without being expected to change his lifestyle, why can’t someone in Africa who is “married” to two women do so as well?”

Napier added that a better way forward for the Church than the recommendation made by the German impostor “Cardinal” Walter Kasper is to recommend the traditional Christian practice of fortitude in the face of suffering; the carrying of the cross.

But just have a look at the twitter conversation below to see his contradiction:

That is the Spirit of Vatican II—Spirit of Lies—in action! I personally think the “best” Cardinal Okogie can do is to behave like Cardinal Napier, and I'm saying so because I know the Cardinal to be a lover of Vatican II which is the root of all current evils.

Cardinal Okogie, like many others who follow the evil Council, cares so much about the secular state—but less about the Church. And that’s why he’s popular in Nigeria. In fact I personally think the Cardinal shares a lot in common with “Pope” Francis in this regard. 

In the interview with Leonardo Boff (see:Liberation Theologian Boff: “Francis is One of Us”), we hear that "Pope" Francis' interest“is no longer the Church”. As Boff puts it, “You know, as far as I understand, the centre of his interest is not any more the Church – and certainly not the internal operation of the Church – but, rather, the survival of humanity, the future of the earth.”

To be precise, this is what virtually all church leaders who follow Vatican II have been doing subtly since the evil Council which mandates them never to be “too Catholic” and in fact to stop propagating Catholic doctrine, which explains why “Pope” Francis is never afraid to say openly that proselytism (seeking to convert others to the Catholic Faith) “is solemn nonsense”. The Cardinal Okogie I know is like this, too—though of course not as wicked as the evil "pope"—and he is one of the best clergymen in Nigeria precisely because of this attitude, that is, because he cares so much about “humanity” in the secular state, and less about the Church. Having listened attentively to his several provocative sermons for years, I'm never afraid to say that what he believes in is the same adulterated “Faith” of the new religion headed by V2 popes. Like “Pope” Francis, he doesn't believe in converting people to the Catholic Faith but rather believes that there are truths in all religions—for instance he never ceased declaring, during his sermons right inside the cathedral, that Mohammed is indeed God’s Prophet. This statement got me confused for years! His promotion of Islam, from my perspective, was simply radical.

Cardinal Okogie is one of those who helped John Paul II to destroy the Catholic Faith in Nigeria.

Cardinal Okogie is one of those who helped John Paul II to destroy the Catholic Faith in Nigeria—by enforcing Vatican II doctrines. I still remember—during the era of John Paul II—the Cardinal calling Fr Evaristus Eshionwu “a wolf” simply because the priest dared to celebrate the Tridentine Mass (I mean the only canonised Catholic Mass) hiding somewhere in Lagos with a few number of the faithful. And this was published in the cardinal’s archdiocesan Catholic Herald and read by so many infidels of the archdiocese. In fact, even when Pope Benedict XVI came on board and “lifted the ban” on the Tridentine Mass, the Cardinal still did nothing to promote the Latin Mass in his archdiocese. I also remember the Cardinal demonising Father Nicholas Gruner’s Fatima Crusader in the same Catholic Herald for daring to uphold the Catholic Faith.

Cardinals Okogie and Burke compared

Burke

Recently I tried comparing some beliefs of Cardinal Okogie and Cardinal Burke. After the comparison, I could see why Cardinal Okogie—too liberal—may never support Cardinal Burke and the other three Dubia Cardinals—considered to be “too rigid”—but will always support an impostor like “Pope” Francis. And there are many other churchmen in Nigeria who will behave just the same way. Apart from the Dubia issue, I tried considering other issues as well—focusing particularly on Cardinals Okogie and Burke.

Consider the following:

• Cardinal Okogie, like "Pope" Francis, is one of the greatest advocates of Feminist ideology of women in politics in Nigeria—part of the reasons why he is politically popular in the country. Cardinal Burke, on the contrary, is an enemy of Feminism.

• Cardinal Okogie, like "Pope" Francis, is opposed to the Tridentine Mass. Cardinal Burke, on the contrary, champions the Tridentine Mass. 

• Cardinal Okogie, like “Pope” Francis, promotes the idea of women at the altar—there were (and still are), in his archdiocese, and in many other places in Nigeria, women lay readers, altar girls, Rev. Sisters giving Holy Communion, and the so-called women catechists which he personally initiated and promoted in his archdiocese. Visit Church of the Assumption at Falomo, Lagos, or Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Victoria Island today and you will see these women “catechists” dressed in pant trousers (with the hairs uncovered) while doing their job! (Note: Placing any role of authority in the Church in the hands of a laywoman who then has charge over men flies in the face of the admonition of St. Paul about the pride of women with respect to their coveting authority over men and the role of teacher in the Church. (See: A “Feminized” Catholic Church?). Okogie of course believes that St. Paul’s admonition in this regard is already outdated because the times have changed. Cardinal Burke, on the contrary, opposes the idea of women at the altar. On the so-called “altar girls” for instance Burke writes:

“Apart from the priest, the sanctuary has become full of women. The activities in the parish and even the liturgy have been influenced by women and become so feminine in many places that men do not want to get involved. Men are often reluctant to become active in the Church. The feminized environment and the lack of the Church’s effort to engage men has led many men to simply opt out.”

           

Most priests started off as altar boys, a position, he said, that “requires a certain manly discipline.” But then in 1983—as part of the communists’ efforts to create a genderless society—“the Church” under the apostate John Paul II dropped its ban on girls serving as altar assistants. That move, Burke said, made young men uncomfortable and unwilling to participate in altar services, leading to an eventual shortage of priests.  

“The introduction of girl servers also led many boys to abandon altar service,” Burke told Emangelization. “Young boys don’t want to do things with girls. It’s just natural. ...So many boys drifted away over time.”

And that's just how the devil is destroying Sacred Priesthood, using the hierarchy. Today Francis subtly attributes this shortage of Novus Ordo priests to celibacy! And under his disastrous “pontificate” a good number of married men have already been "ordained" “priests”—and I mean a practice simply normal in some places NOW! See, for instance: With pope's blessing, married man is ordained Catholic priest in St. Louis. And Pope Francis Visits With Married Ex-Priests .

Manal Akiki embracing his wife after his "ordination". Akiki, 41 then (in 2014), is the first married man in the Maronite Catholic Church to be “ordained” into the priesthood in the United States with the blessing of “Pope” Francis. 

• And then—related to the Dubia issue—Cardinal Okogie, like “Pope Francis”, believes in giving Holy Communion to public sinners. I'm not saying merely what I heard, but what I actually witnessed—like the case of a notorious homosexual receiving Holy Communion regularly in his own parish some years back. Anyone who doesn’t see any “big deal” in giving Holy Communion to a homosexual will equally not be embarrassed if a “pope” gives the same Communion to public adulterers. Cardinal Burke, on the contrary, is opposed to this evil practice—which is why he participated in writing the Dubia anyway.  Burke is also famously known to have refused Communion to the abortionist presidential candidate John Kerry, in 2004.

Cardinal Okogie usually doesn't care when the Church is suffering, as we can see in the case of “Pope” Francis who has tormented the Church for over three years now—the Cardinal maintaining a profound silence. But the same Cardinal has criticised virtually ALL Nigerian Presidents—from Babangida in the 1980s to Abacha in the ’90s, then Obasanjo, Yar’adua, Jonathan, and now Buhari in the 2000s—just to mention those I can easily recall. He is always one of the firsts to find faults in any administration. His 2016 Open Letter to President Mohammadu Buhari is just an example of what I'm talking about. (See: Cardinal Anthony Okogie writes open letter to President Buhari).

So why has the same Cardinal, who is always the first to see the evil in any government in Nigeria, never seen any evil in “Pope” Francis and his apostate “pontificate”? Why is Cardinal Okogie, a Prince of the Church, busy writing an open letter (on hunger and bad leadership!) to the Nigeria’s President even while his own house (the Church) is on fire? Which is more evil—Buhari’s bad leadership which only results to temporal hunger affecting the body, or “Pope” Francis’ poisonous pontificate which kills both body and soul?

Read the Cardinal’s old article in defence of “Pope” Francis—Anthony Cardinal Okogie: On Homosexuality: Nothing Has Changed in the Church —and tell me, after the reading, if you still doubt why a critic like the Cardinal never bothered to condemn any of the monumental evils in “Pope” Francis’ disastrous “pontificate”. For my humble response to that article, see: No, Cardinal Okogie, Homosexuals Deserve No Respect!

Cardinal Okogie is even better than Bishop Hassan Kukah

Kukah

Cardinal Okogie, known personally to this writer as a humble and kind man—despite the errors listed, that is, a humble and kind man who refuses to uphold the Catholic Faith, is by far better than Bishop Hassan Kukah. Bishop Kukah—one of the worst enemies of Catholicism in Nigeria—who goes about criticising Buhari’s government even while rejoicing over “Pope” Francis who “has opened to the world the real face of the Catholic Church”, is indeed a source of temptation. I can’t waste my time on him because he is simply annoying. For Kukah on Francis, see: Pope Francis: A Pope For All Seasons; and for his political jargon, see: POPE FRANCIS VS BISHOP KUKAH ON CORRUPTION, written by a non-Catholic observer!

There are so many other political bishops and priests in Nigeria, all of them solidly supporting Francis.

Cardinal Okogie, Bishop Kukah and others are supporting an anti-pope to destroy the Catholic Faith in Nigeria 

  

St. Robert Bellarmine writes, in De Romano Pontifice, (Bk. 2):

“The fourth opinion is that of Cajetan, for whom the manifestly heretical Pope is not “ipso facto” deposed, but can and must be deposed by the Church. To my judgment, this opinion cannot be defended. For, in the first place, it is proven with arguments from authority, and from reason, that the manifest heretic is “ipso facto” deposed. The argument from authority is based on Saint Paul, who orders that the heretic be avoided after two warnings, that is, after showing himself to be manifestly obstinate – which means before any excommunication or judicial sentence”.

So according to St. Bellarmine, who bases his opinion on St. Paul, a heretic is considered to be manifestly obstinate after receiving two warnings.  And who would be responsible for warning the “Pope”?  The eminent eighteenth-century Italian theologian, Father Pietro Ballerini, gives us the answer:

“The Cardinals, who are his counsellors, can do this; or the Roman Clergy, or the Roman Synod, if, being met, they judge this opportune. For any person, even a private person, the words of Saint Paul to Titus hold: ‘Avoid the heretic, after a first and second correction, knowing that such a man is perverted and sins, since he is condemned by his own judgment’ (Tit. 3, 10-11). For the person, who admonished once or twice, does not repent, but continues pertinacious in an opinion contrary to a manifest or public dogma - not being able, on account of this public pertinacity to be excused, by any means, of heresy properly so called, which requires pertinacity - this person declares himself openly a heretic. He reveals that by his own will he has turned away from the Catholic Faith and the Church, in such form that now no declaration or sentence of any one whatsoever is necessary to cut him from the body of the Church. (…) Therefore the Pontiff who after such a solemn and public warning by the Cardinals, by the Roman Clergy or even by the Synod, maintained himself hardened in heresy and openly turned himself away from the Church, would have to be avoided, according to the precept of Saint Paul. So that he might not cause damage to the rest, he would have to have his heresy and contumacy publicly proclaimed, so that all might be able to be equally on guard in relation to him. Thus, the sentence which he had pronounced against himself would be made known to all the Church, making clear that by his own will he had turned away and separated himself from the body of the Church, and that in a certain way he had abdicated the Pontificate, which no one holds or can hold if he does not belong to the Church”. (De Potestate Ecclesiastica, pgs.104-105).

This is just what the current Dubia of the Four Cardinals is all about—although we equally know that Francis is an anti-pope and, also, that without such a Dubia or any warning Francis as a manifest heretic is already automatically excommunicated.  

Cardinal Burke said:

My position is that Amoris Laetitia is not Magisterial because it contains serious ambiguities that confuse people and can lead them into error and grave sin. A document with these defects cannot be part of the Church’s perennial teaching. Because that is the case, the Church needs absolute clarity regarding what Pope Francis is teaching and encouraging.

“... I, together with the other three Cardinals, are striving to be loyal to the Holy Father by being loyal to Christ above all. By making public our plea for clarity of doctrine and pastoral practice, we are hoping to make this a discussion for all Catholics, especially our fellow bishops. Every baptized person should be concerned about doctrine and moral practices regarding the Holy Eucharist and Holy Matrimony, and about how we are to identify good and evil actions.  These matters affect all of us.

“Rather than being a matter of disloyalty to the Pope, our action is deeply loyal to everything that the Pope represents and is obliged to defend in his official capacity. Pope Francis has called for candid speech in the Church a number of times, and has asked members of the hierarchy for openness and accountability. We are being candid, with the fullest respect for the office of the Holy Father, and exercising, according to the light of our consciences, the openness and accountability which the Church has the right to expect of us.

“This is my duty as a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. I was not created a Cardinal in order to receive an honorary position. Rather, Pope Benedict XVI made me a Cardinal to assist him and his successors in governing the Church and teaching the Faith. All Cardinals have the duty of working closely with the Pope for the good of souls, and this is precisely what I am doing by raising questions of grave importance regarding faith and morals. I would not be fulfilling my duty as a cardinal, and therefore as counsellor to the Pope, if I remained silent on an issue of such serious matter."

Well, although we've been shouting that Bergoglio is a manifest heretic even before the Four Cardinals appeared on the scene, I think the Dubia of the Four Cardinals and other petitions by Catholics from around the globe which the apostate has obstinately ignored have just clearly established this fact. Or can we still find other excuses to justify Bergoglio as “pope”? So—have not the slightest doubt about it—Anthony Cardinal Okogie, Bishop Hassan Kukah as well as all the Nigerian clergy are currently deceiving the entire Catholics in Nigeria and leading them into THE GREAT APOSTASY by following the teachings of Vatican II, by refusing to support the Four Cardinals, and by adhering to and promoting “Pope” Francis, an obstinate, contumacious and manifestly heretical anti-pope.

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