Enugu, November 18, 2025 — The Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Ignatius A. Kaigama, has raised strong concerns over the growing abuse of priestly authority within the Catholic Church, warning that such practices continue to wound the faithful and weaken the Church’s credibility.
He made the remarks while presenting a paper titled “The Abuse of Priestly Powers and its Impact on the Laity” at the Fourth Enugu Catholic Diocesan Synod.
Quoting theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer — “It is not power that corrupts the Church, it is silence” — Archbishop Kaigama said the Church must confront misconduct within the clergy with honesty and courage, insisting that silence in the face of wrongdoing only deepens the crisis.
While acknowledging the sacrifices of more than 400,000 priests and over 5,000 bishops worldwide, the Archbishop lamented that the failures of a few often overshadow the quiet heroism of many.
“One act of weakness gets the media headlines,” he noted, accusing some social media creators of intentionally amplifying clerical scandals for profit. Despite this, he stressed that it has become necessary to openly address cases of spiritual manipulation, emotional and physical abuse, and financial misconduct by clergy.
Archbishop Kaigama drew from economist John Kenneth Galbraith’s “The Anatomy of Power” to explain how power can be abused through coercion, reward, or psychological influence. He warned that priests and bishops, by virtue of their revered roles, often wield “condign, compensatory, and conditioned power” in ways that can leave the faithful vulnerable and manipulated.
He emphasized that the Church, historically a “society of saints and sinners,” has long struggled with internal corruption, with clerical sexual abuse remaining one of its most damaging scandals.
The Archbishop listed major consequences of abuse of power within the Church, including:
Erosion of trust and faith, leading to declining attendance and participation; Damage to the Church’s moral authority and societal influence;
Psychological and emotional trauma inflicted on victims; Financial mismanagement that risks reducing the Church to “a worldly business,” a concern repeatedly raised by Pope Francis.
Kaigama observed that the era of absolute clerical dominance is fading, replaced by a more educated laity and a Church increasingly committed to transparency and shared leadership. He described a shift from a “pyramidal church” to a “synodal church,” where priests lead collaboratively rather than autocratically.
He cautioned against priests who misuse their roles to intimidate, threaten, or manipulate parishioners:
“A priest should not turn the liturgy into a fundraising marathon or arrogate to himself the power to curse or threaten people,” he said.
He cited extreme past practices — priests unilaterally dissolving choirs or Catholic Women Organisations, turning Masses into fundraising marathons, or threatening parishioners with curses of childlessness, sickness, or electoral defeat — as incompatible with Vatican II’s vision of the Church as the “People of God” and Pope Francis’ call for “walking together.”
The Archbishop revealed a recent case in which parishioners formally confronted their priest with accusations ranging from financial mismanagement to verbal violence, emotional insensitivity, and spiritual negligence — a sign he says reflects a growing demand for accountability.
Quoting lay voices, he noted deep frustration over “avarice, arbitrariness, materialism, and the polarization of parishioners” by some priests. Even seminarians and parish workers, he warned, can pick up unhealthy habits if such misconduct goes unchecked.
Referencing the global clerical abuse crisis, which has seen roughly 5,000 priests dismissed worldwide in two decades, Kaigama said the heart of the problem lies in a “crisis of personal fidelity” and in a clerical culture urgently in need of renewal.
“The sheep are no longer sure whether their clergy are shepherds, hirelings, or wolves,” he lamented.
Despite the strong critique, Archbishop Kaigama urged priests not to be discouraged, describing the current moment as “a pruning from God… a season of purification.”
To the laity, he appealed for balanced judgment:
“Look at the half-full glass,” he said. “Support your priests. Pray for them. Criticism without love will create the very opposite of the synodal Church we desire.”
He stressed that renewal must be a shared responsibility:
“It is not a war between the clergy and the laity. It should be about collaboration and co-responsibility.”
The Fourth Enugu Catholic Diocesan Synod continues with discussions aimed at strengthening pastoral leadership, promoting transparency, and renewing trust within the Church community.
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