According to the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Lagos State, Apostle Alex Bamgbola, the so-called pastors involved in child abuse is an issue that the Church is very much concerned about.
“The fact is that there are so many men of the devil that pretend to be men of God these days. The Church of God is so big that we are not able to know everybody and many Churches in the name of God, which are not, have sprung up. One thing that is certain is that anyone caught in this dastardly act should be dealt with decisively.
“I want to say unequivocally that this is one of the signs of the end time and those who do not believe or know may be blaming the Church and forget that there are always wolves in sheep’s skins and that there is always a mixed multitude among the genuine people.
“I also want to opine that we need a stronger judiciary, a more efficient and dependable security to combat this kind of situation. If we have good policing system that can detect this kind of immoral act, we will begin to have less of such.
“I think we had this kind of system in the 60s when we had informants that helped the government, which went a long way to checkmate this kind of immoral act. One thing we should know is that CAN cannot do the work of police.
“The government should address the issue of the judiciary which I see as a problem. The case of one Pastor King is still fresh in my memory. Such case needs not drag for too long, but requires quick judgment and a decisive one to send message to others,” Bamgbola said.
According to the Lord Bishop of the Diocese of Isiala-Ngwa South, Abia State, Nigeria, Rt. Rev. Isaac Nwaobia, the issue of child abuse should be handled Biblically.
“It is known that those involved in it are also involved in witchcraft and they need deliverance to save them from such abnormal act. A child of God, let alone a pastor or a priest, is supposed to be a light in the world that cannot be overshadowed by darkness. To a very large extent, a worker in the vineyard of the Lord has immunity when it comes to such immoral act and that is why when we go deeper into such an issue, we would discover that such perpetrators are into occultism.”
In his remarks, the Prelate of Methodist Church, His Eminence, Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche said: “In every 12 disciples, there must be a Judas Iscariot. This is the reason we have these set of so-called pastors among the true ones. The Church wants to expose these set of mixed multitude in the Church, but people are afraid to come up with information that would lead to identifying and arresting them to discipline them. One thing is certain that if we are able to identity them, they would be disciplined decisively.
“To avoid temptation of this nature, we encourage our own pastors to get married so that they would be able to concentrate on the job. As men of God, we are to live by example and should not give room to the devil to allow the Name of God to be blasphemed.”
THE GUARDIAN
