NEWS
UPDATE:
Pope's Visit to Nigeria
and Beatification of Father
Tansi (1)
NEWS
UPDATE:
Pope's Visit to Nigeria
and Beatification of Father
Tansi (1)
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POPE TO RESIDE IN ABUJA FOR NIGERIAN TRIP
Nigerian News Du Jour - Wednesday 18 March 1998
Pope John Paul II, who is due in the country on Saturday, would be accommodated at the yet to be completed Vatican Embassy in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in Abuja, throughout his two-day stay in the country, the Catholic Church in Nigeria said yesterday. The church disclosed that it had budgeted N31 million for the visit of the Pope to Onitsha. The Archbishop of Onitsha said N13 million had been spent while N5 million is being spent on public addressed systems. He said labour on the podium to be used will cost N2.5 million. Of the total amount budgeted for the Onitsha visit, the church only received a N2 million assistance from Anambra State government. For Abuja, the Archbishop who could not give a vivid budget said they had received donations from certain unaimed individuals. If everything should be quantified, he said, it would run to over N100 million. ."Many things have been given free. Catholics have made available two planes for the movement of the Pope and his entourage and we heard that Kabo Airline has offered two planes for the occasion free of charge" he stated. The church, he also disclosed, inherited mobile toilets that were used for the last youth rally in Abuja aimed at persuading the head of state to succeed himself.
Reuters 16-MAR-98 By Matthew Tostevin
IGBOEZUNU, Nigeria (Reuters ) - Godwin Nneke's brother is just a step away from becoming Nigeria's first saint and Nneke hopes to be there Sunday when Pope John Paul II beatifies the former monk, putting him on the last stage before sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.
After the special mass near Onitsha that will bless the exhumed remains of Father Michael Cyprian Iwene Tansi before an expected crowd of up to two million, Nneke will return the 25 miles to Igboezunu, where he has lived for the 89 years he guesses his life has spanned.
``He's an ordinary farmer,'' said Father Jeremiah Nwosu, interpreting for Nneke, who never went to school and speaks not a word of English, Nigeria's official language. ``He's very happy that his brother is on the way to becoming a saint,'' Nwosu added on behalf of Nneke, whose muscles shake with years of toil at this hamlet.
In a tale familiar across Africa, only one child in the poor family was to get a formal education. Tansi, born in 1903, went to school. The other children hoed and planted to support the household.
AT LEAST ONE MIRACLE His missionary education at nearby Aguleri was the first stage of Tansi's journey far from the tropics to his death in Britain's winter of 1964. From the grave, he has a large and growing following of people sure he has answered their prayers, and he has at least one miracle to his name, confirmed by the Vatican and a necessary qualification for becoming a saint.
``I couldn't get up. I couldn't eat or drink,'' Philomena Nnana, 29, who was suffering from seemingly terminal cancer at the Holy Rosary hospital in Onitsha when Tansi's remains were brought back from Britain in 1986, told Reuters. ``I asked to touch the coffin and it was like a bag of cement on my stomach melted. Everything disappeared and I felt well again.''
Except for the miracle, and a trip to the Vatican to give evidence on Tansi's behalf, Nnana's life has been typical of the Nigerian market city. She makes a little money as a trader and is married to a dealer in prescription drugs. She has given birth to three children and two are still alive and healthy.
``I have a lot to be thankful for. I always say a special prayer for Father Tansi and bring flowers to his tomb on the anniversary of his death,'' she said. ``Some people like to touch me because of the miracle. They like to be blessed.''
TANSI DEFIED TRADITION These days the people of Igboezunu are proud of Tansi, but in the 1920s they could not understand how he could desert tradition and family duty by joining the priesthood to become a 'slave' to God.
Deities worshiped before European missionaries arrived still play a part in the lives of many in the heartland of the overwhelmingly Christian Ibo people, who make up at least 15 million of Nigeria's more than 104 million population.
In the 1920s the traditions held even more power. Tansi's mother was accused of being a witch and forced to drink poison in a trial by ordeal that killed her. Tansi, by that time a teacher, entered a seminary on the banks of the nearby River Niger in 1925 and was ordained in 1937.
Surviving parishioners say he walked tirelessly around the villages he served hearing confessions, baptizing the new-born and burying the dead. But at the back of his mind was a calling to lead a life of prayer, contemplation and poverty.
In 1950 his wish was granted to join the Abbey of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance at Mount Saint Bernard in Leicestershire, England, where he stayed until his death from thrombosis in January 1964 without returning to Africa.
``He lived a very ascetic life. He insisted on chastity. He kept on hammering that, mortifying the flesh and so forth,'' said Father Hillary Anisiobi, current parish priest at Aguleri who was baptized by Tansi in 1940 and sleeps in his old room.
``He never looked behind him, never. He always walked straight ahead, just like that.''
Nigerian News Du Jour - Monday 16 March 1998
The scheduled visit of the Pope to Nigeria which had appeared like a public relations coup may backfire on the regime. Religious, human and prodemocracy groups within and outside the country have latched on the Pope's trip to focus on Nigeria's political prisoners some of whom have been in detention for almost four years without trial. Over the weekend, Roman Catholic bishops in Nigeria pinned their hopes for a reconciliation between opposing groups in the country when the `Pope arrives the country next week. ``The visit should elicit from all of us, Christians and non-Christians alike, a commitment to the values and principles that the pope champions around the world,'' the bishops said in an open letter to Catholics. Earlier this month, Roman Catholic bishops urged Gen. Sani Abacha to free all political prisoners. The Pope is expected to visit Abuja and Enugu before stopping in Onitsha to beatify a priest who died about 10 years ago, the Rev. Michael Iwene Tansi. The Pope last visited Nigeria in 1982, when he ordained 100 priests from around the country. Ten percent of the country's 90 million people are Catholic. About half are Muslim.
Nigerian News Du Jour - Monday 16 March 1998
Human rights bodies within and outside Nigeria have intensified the pressure on Pope John Paul to raise the question of political detainees with General Abacha when he visits the country next week. ``The Pope's visit is an important opportunity to raise international awareness about the human rights issue in Nigeria,'' said Bronwen Manby, a spokeswoman for the international lobby group Human Rights Watch. She was speaking at an informal meeting of reporters, human rights bodies and Christian organisations to discuss the Pope's visit on March 21-23. The group said it had written to the Pope ahead of his official visit, asking him to intervene on behalf of political prisoners. Amnesty International estimated there were nearly 200 political prisoners in Nigeria. But unofficial estimates put the figure at around 1,000. Some are facing jail sentences of up to 25 years. "Conditions in Nigerian prisons can be life-threatening, and, given the intransigence of the Nigerian government, the pope's visit may be the last chance some of those detained have to come out alive" said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch also urged the pope to raise concerns about the transition program by which the military is supposedly returning Nigeria to elected civilian rule, including control of the electoral commission and restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly. An Amnesty spokeswoman told the meeting that ``Anyone who puts their head above the parapet puts himself at risk of detention or being killed.'' Another group, Article 19, which campaigns against censorship, urged Britain to use its European Union presidency and influence in the Commonwealth to step up sanctions against the Nigerian government.
VATICAN CITY, MAR 12 (ZENIT) - The Pope's pastoral visit to Nigeria from Mar. 21-23 will be his 13th African trip and second to Nigeria. It is the largest (360,847 sq. Mi.) and most populous (111,720,000) country in Africa, with the largest absolute number of Catholics (12,412,000 - 10%). Boasting the largest number of priests (2,998) and religious (3,417) of the continent, Nigeria also benefits from the largest number of foreign missionaries. It is the 6th largest petroleum producer in the world, with a 2% yearly growth in the Gross National Product, and an inflation rate of 28% (down from over 50% before the regime of General Abasha). However, the Bishops of its 45 dioceses say that "there is an acute misery to be found on the moral, economic, and social level. The 250 ethnic groups of Nigeria make ecumenism and dialogue the most important realities for the Church.
[Nigerian News Du Jour - Wednesday 11 March, 1998]
About 15 Nigerian pro-democracy groups in Europe, America and Nigeria have written jointly to
Pope John Paul II asking him to table the issue of political detainees before General Abacha
during his visit to Abuja later this month. They said Nigerians live in constant fear as thousands
of people, politicians, journalists, trade union leaders, human and minority rights activists,
students and their families have been imprisoned for various reasons. Warning of the prospect of
full scale political violence that could threaten the sub-saharan region, they stated to the Pope,
"Holy Father, while we fully understand that your main mission to Nigeria is a pastoral one, yet
we know that setting prisoners free both spiritually and physically was one of Christ's many acts
and promises while on Earth".
Signatories to the letter copied to various Cardinals, and Catholic Councils worldwide, include United Democratic Front of Nigeria (UDFN), United Action for Democracy, Nigeria (UAD), Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Nigerian Democratic Movement (NDM), New Nigerian Forum (NNF), Canadian Organisation for Human Rights and Democracy in Nigeria (COHDN), The Nigerian Common Cause, Germany, Nigerian Democratic Task Force, The VOICE Forum, Germany, Nigerian Association in Niedersasche (NAN), Germany, Association of Nigerian Authors - German Section, Action Group for Democracy (AGFD), Nigerian Freedom Foundation (NFF), Association of Nigerian Scholars for Dialogue and the Association of Nigerians Abroad (ANA).
LAGOS, March 9 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Catholic bishops have called for the release of all political detainees in the country as a gesture of national reconciliation.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported on Sunday that the bishops, ending a three-day meeting in the eastern town of Onitsha, urged Nigerians to use Pope John Paul II's visit later this month as an opportunity to pursue genuine reconciliation.
``The bishops said that true reconciliation could only be achieved through dialogue between two opposing parties with a capacity to listen to one another,'' the agency said.
The Pope will make his second visit to Nigeria from March 21 to 23, to beatify the late Father Cyprien Iwene Tansi, a local monk who died in 1964. He will also meet Nigeria's military ruler General Sani Abacha in the capital, Abuja.
The agency said the bishops also called on the Nigerian electorate to exercise their vote ``conscientiously'' in elections due later in the year to return Nigeria to civilian rule. Abacha is widely expected to stand for the civilian presidency.
The military government's continued detention of dozens of political prisoners is a major sticking point with Western countries, which have imposed limited sanctions on Nigeria to force the pace of reforms.
Among the political prisoners is Moshood Abiola, the southwestern millionaire businessman presumed to have won Nigeria's last election in 1993, which was annulled by another military government in which Abacha was a key player.
ONITSHA, Nigeria, Mar 7 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Catholic community is ready to receive Pope John Paul when he visits later this month to beatify a local priest, a spokesman said.
``I can say categorically that we are ready to host the Pope as all things needed are in place. The Catholic community is longing to see the Pope during his visit,'' Archbishop Albert Obiefuna, host of the Nigerian Catholic Bishops conference in eastern Onitsha town, told Reuters on Friday.
The Catholic bishops held a conference from March 3 to 6 in Onitsha to discuss the Pope's visit. The Pope would visit Nigeria from March 21 to 23, his second to the African country, and would beatify late Father Cyprien Iwene Tansi, a monk who died in 1964.
Tansi is the first Nigerian to be beatified, the last stage before sainthood. March 22 is the date for the beatification ceremony which would take place at Oba airstrip near Onitsha.
Obiefuna said T-shirts, brooches, caps, banners and posters to welcome the Pontiff had been designed and printed. ``The facilities for the beatification are near ready,'' he said.
``We have constructed facilities such as a vestry, a small chapel and podium necessary for the Pope's use. We're now in the painting and decoration stage.''
He said terraces were being constructed on either side of the podium for the more than two million people expected to attend the Papal Mass after Tansi's beatification.
More than 3,000 Catholic priests and 1,000 seminarians would assist the Pope in administering holy communion at the Mass celebration, he said.
According to the Vatican, the Pontiff's would also hold a Mass in the capital Abuja on March 23 and meet members of Nigeria's Episcopal Conference before departing for Rome in the evening.
``Everything for the Abuja Mass is also as good as ready,'' Obiefuna said.
The Pope last visited Nigeria in 1982, when millions of people turned out to hear him.
Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation with 104 million people. About half the population is Moslem and Catholics form less than half the Christian population of more than 25 million.
NNDJ - 3 FEBRUARY 1998 - Federal capital territory Minister Lt General Jerry Useni is to head a committee set up by the federal government to coordinate activities during the March 21-23 visit to Nigeria of Pope John Paul II,
Reverend Emmanuel Badejo, the communication secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria has said. During the visit, the Pope's second to Nigeria after his first trip in 1982, the Pontiff would hold an open air mass to be attended by an estimated two million worshippers in Abuja. A similar service is to be held in the eastern market town of Onitsha, where the Pope is also due to beatify Venerable Michael Cyprian Tansi, a Nigerian priest and monk, who died Jan. 29, 1964 at the Leicester Royal Infirmary and was buried at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, England. Tansi, born in 1903 in Aguleri, in Nigeria's eastern state of Anambra, had taught for several years before entering the seminary. Tansi's remains were exhumed and reinterred at the Archdiocesan Fathers' Cemetery at the Holy Trinity Cathedral compound, Onitsha in October 1986.
The Tribune newspaper had reported that the proposed visit of the Catholic Pontiff, may have re-kindled hope of an early release of political detainees in the country. Quoting unnamed official sources, the paper reported that the military government was considering making a "good move in response to the news of the planned visit." In a speech to mark his four years in office last Nov. 17, military ruler Gen. Sani Abacha had said that an unspecified number of detainees, who did not constitute a threat to national security, would be freed. With no further official comments on the issue, radical Lagos lawyer Gani Fawehinmi, two weeks ago went to a Lagos court demanding that Abacha should free some 119 political detainees. The suit has not been listed for hearing.
VATICAN CITY. JAN 30, 1998 (VIS) - The itinerary for Pope John Paul's March 21-23 apostolic visit to Nigeria for the beatification of Servant of God Fr. Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi was published today. This will be his 82nd foreign trip.
The Holy Father is scheduled to leave Rome's Leonardo da Vinci Airport at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, March 21, for the five-hour trip to Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. On Sunday, March 22, he will travel from Abuja to Enugu and Onitsha, returning that evening to Abuja. He will arrive back in Rome at 10 p.m. on Monday, March 23.
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