Catholics battle Okotie over comment

This is a 'complicated' season for popular Lagos Pastor, Rev. Chris Okotie, even as he prepares to honour the first female one-star General in the Nigerian Airforce, Air Commodore Habiba Garba.

She is the winner of Okotie's Household of God Church's Karis Award for the year and she will be honoured on Sunday at the Church in Lagos.

Damning widespread criticisms continue to hit a statement credited to the controversial preacher and televangelist, declaring that all "Catholics will go to hell." Indeed, this seems to be threatening to take the shine of the annual Karis Award.

The event is a brain child of Okotie who established it to honour Nigerians who have excelled in various fields, but who may not have been recognised by the larger society.

The pastor is alleged to have made the remarks while delivering a sermon last Sunday. The controversial statement partly goes thus, "The Catholic church is a counterfeit church set up by Satan. Catholics bow to idols and crucify Jesus every Sunday when they eat bread claiming they are eating Jesus' body."

Okotie tried to justify his claims by adding that his statements are "not out of disrespect but out of respect for the word of God."

Apart from the fact that he has not debunked the claim, a post on his Facebook account on Tuesday
afternoon reinforces the argument. It simply read, "Re- Catholicism: Truth is bitter. It lacks saccharine delights."

The statement has further led to more outrage by his Facebook fans and other aggrieved persons, just as his Facebook page has been besieged by angry Nigerians who have failed to see reasons with him.

Not surprising, most of the comments have been uncomplimentary as the Man of God has been tagged with unprintable names. The ensuing controversy has also pitched Okotie and Catholic faithful against one another on Twitter and Facebook.

A group called Nigerians Catholics on Facebook have issued a statement to this effect. The body claimed that Okotie was simply seeking cheap publicity in its statement.

The administrator of the page wrote, "The unguarded utterances of Chris Okotie to fellow Christians who chose to practise their dogma in their own way shows how irresponsible and ill-
mannered he is.

"Antagonising another church with a different principle of worshiping, but with no difference in faith professed, portrays Christ Okotie in bad light and casts negative shadows on his purported ministry in Christendom. Read more