Christian Cleric Debunks Delving Into Polygamy

Rev. Fr. Gabriel Ngbea, chaplain of the College of Education Akwanga, Nasarawa state has refuted claims in the media alleging his encouragement of polygamy in the Catholic Church.

Ngbea told newsmen on Friday in Lafia that the media quoted him out of context during the enculturation mass at St. Patricks Catholic Church Akwanga on December 11, 2016.

According to the priest, he only made a passionate appeal to the Catholic Church to be sympathetic and consider the plight of those who were polygamous before repentance in terms sacraments and denial of Christian burial rites.

“There is the need to come out with clear guidelines regarding the sacramental state of polygamist, who found themselves in that state before accepting Christ.

“This is not in any way I am advocating for polygamy in the church. The union between one man and one woman was ordained by God since creation, any other form of union is unacceptable,” Ngbea said.

The priest said that he also re-echoed calls by scholars on the need for the Catholic Church to study indigenous cultures with the view to introducing some of the good virtues into the doctrine in order to effectively reach the people with the gospel.

“Already, Catholics in Nigeria have started using their native names for baptism, but we still need to encourage people to use their native languages and meaningful names for baptism.

“Most of our names as Africans have more meaning for the bearers than foreign names. For instance, the Yoruba people, both Christians and Muslim still bear their names massively.

“Our celebration of the Eucharist must be a joyful celebration as Africans, everybody must be carried along,” Ngea said.

He also advocated for the introduction of African traditional food, saying that the deep awareness that such food came from God would produce elements of species and make the Eucharist more relevant to Nigerians.