HISTORICAL DISCOURSE ON SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN OWERRI ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE NIGERIA

1.1Background to the Study

The Church from inception has rendered various levels of social welfare services to humanity as a duty and an embodiment of the church. Jesus Christ in His time engaged in welfare services to people apart from teaching the word of God. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, cast out demons, and gave hope to the oppressed. The apostles continued from where Jesus stopped. With the authority invested on them by Jesus, they preached to people, healed the sick and provided for the welfare of the congregation. The early church equally offered welfare services to the people. In the early church, the care was carried out by the deacons and widows under the leadership of the Bishop. Carter (2007) notes that:

Welfare service was not limited to members of the Christian congregation but was directed toward the larger community, particularly in times of pestilence and plague. Eusebius noted in his Ecclesiastical History that while the heathen fled the plague at Alexandria, ―most of our brother-Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty‖ in caring for and frequently dying with the victims. (n.p).

The foundation of the church was laid on evangelization through preaching the word of God and provision of welfare services to humanity. Part of the social welfare service provision by the church done under pastoral care is identified by Ernst (2007) as the principal interest of pastoral care-whether exercised by clergy or laity. It is the personal welfare of persons who are hurt, troubled, alienated or confused within. The historical expressions of pastoral care have focused on the predominant but not exclusive expressions of ultimate concern characteristics of the periods in question. Fundamentally, however, pastoral care has always attempted to respond to

the totality of human needs in every age in consonance with the words of Jesus Christ: ―I was hungry and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me‖ (Matthew 25: 35-36).The Christian congregation has traditionally cared for the poor, the sick, widows and orphans. The letter of James says: ―Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.‖ Widows formed a special group in the congregations and were asked to help with nursing care and other service obligations as long as they did not need help and care themselves.

The church by the 4th century had founded orphanages and the monasteries took over this task during the middle ages. They also fought against the practice of abandoning unwanted children and established foundling hospitals. In this era, as in others, a secularization of church institutions took place in connection with the spreading autonomy of the cities. In Protestant churches the establishment of orphanages was furthered systematically.

The society keeps changing with the advent of time and as new trends keep on emanating, so does the services provided work to meet the demand of the time. Ernst (2007) stipulates that: the Christian community‘s response to the questions of poverty and the poor may be sketched in terms of four major perspectives, which have historically overlapped and sometimes coexisted in mutuality or contradiction. The first perspective, both chronologically and in continuing popularity, is personal charity. This was the predominant form of the church‘s relationship to the poor from the 1st to the 16th century. The second perspective supplements the remedial work of personal charity by efforts for preventive welfare through structural changes in

society. The third perspective is a retreat in to the charity models of the earlier Christian community. This is because of the overwhelming effects of the process of secularization and human misery caused by industrialization, the key to social welfare was expressed that social change depended upon the conversion of individuals. The fourth perspective, present in churches of the modern period, envisions systemic social change to facilitate redistribution of the world‘s wealth. Personal charity is not neglected, but the primary goal is to change the unjust structures of society.

 

The missionaries who brought Christianity to Igbo land engaged in preaching the word of God and provision of social welfare services to the people. Such social welfare services included medical services and school education which served as strategies to reap tremendous success in their work of evangelization. The success and increase is based on numerical strength of converts. There seemed not to be deep-rooted conversion as many hankered over what they were to gain from the white man. They looked for such gain like freedom from oppression, medical attention and other social welfare services. The missionaries used social welfare service as evangelization strategy, while rivalry and competition characterized missionary era of Christianity in Igbo land.

The Catholic Church has at various ages provided laudable plan to cater for the needy. In 1943, the council of Bishops in United States of America instituted a body known as The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) as an arm of Caritas to provide relief in emergency situations and help people in the developing world to break the cycle of poverty through community-based sustainable development initiatives as well as peace building. Assistance is based solely on need, not race, creed or nationality. Catholic Relief Services was originally founded as war relief service to aid the refugees of war-torn Europe. By mid 1950‘s, with confluence of events

including the independence many countries, the name officially became Catholic Relief Services in 1955. During the Rwanda massacre in 1994, CRS offered tremendous assistance in supply of welfare services.

With the effects of the Nigeria civil war which ended in 1970, the church had much more to offer in welfare services. This social welfare services offered by the church at this time hinges more on rehabilitation. The effects of the war left the people hopeless. According to Madiebo (1980), ―the civilian population of Biafra suffered even more than the army‖ (p.383). Achunike (2000)  describes  it  as  ―a  hopeless  situation‖  (p.  45).  This  state  of  the  society  comprised  of orphans and refugees who were homeless, hungry and sick without any hope for remedy. By 1968, the war effects had fully blown. Many who were displaced lived in refugee camps, with little or no food, many died of hunger, malnutrition and consequent ill-health like Kwashiorkor.

The church saw it as paramount to provide the utmost need of the hunger stricken people with drugs and food. As the war advanced, many lost their homes and family members. The number of the internally displaced persons, indigents, and orphans were on the increase. The Church took up the responsibility of providing the necessary social welfare services to rehabilitate the war-torn people. Taking care of the large population by the church that suffered the same war-effect is amazingly good gesture, though a huge project. Thanks to the Caritas, (a welfare arm of Catholic Church), that supplied some food items, clothes and drugs to the people. The Nigeria-Biafra war just like any other war infested the nation and most especially Biafra with the usual ravaging characteristics of war torn area.

The people were confronted with lots of social, religious, psychological, political and economic problems which were yearning for immediate attention and solution. Anything that

seemed to alleviate the hopeless situation was most warmly welcome. The people in their desperation for solution to the ravaging war effect impact of any source of alleviation. The mainline churches did not seem to have the immediate and adequate answer to the hopeless situation and the rehabilitation of the displaced refugees. In is desperate situation, and being people who are religiously inclined, they resorted to prayers for divine intervention. At this time the Aladura and the Pentecostal churches traded their unique capability to provide immediate solution to the problems especially through prayer houses and healing homes. Ojo (2010) identifies that ―in the 1970's Pentecostals directed their teaching to transformation of individuals. The most noticeable of this change is in the emphasis on healing‖ (p.41). The people resorted to visit prayer houses and healing homes. Many prayer houses and healing homes sprang up in response to the immediate need of the war-torn people. Fake prayer houses emerged too and people who actually needed help were rather exploited. Madiebo (1980) acknowledges that many resorted to spiritualism and prayers as the only alternative.

 

In their effort to implore divine intervention to provide solution to their desperate situation, the effort of the mainline churches who though instituted orphanages, led prayers for the people, provided medical services, clothing and food; were perceived as incapable to provide the required solution. There was some air of confusion among the people as they were enticed away in the search for more immediate welfare alleviation by the radical prayers of the Pentecostals. Achunike (2000) states that:

There were many refugees in this war period. Before the war, the established churches had attained stability     hardship, social tensions, dreadful sickness like

kwashiorkor, refugee lifestyle and psychological problems which the mainline churches could not offer solution, diverted the attention of many Igbo towards the

Aladura churches and prayer houses which are springing up at an alarming rate at this time and promised to offer solutions to some of the problems. (pp 55-56).

The above statement by Achunike gives the picture of the Igbo people during and after the war to which they were confused as to how to remedy the situation. The social welfare service offered by the Catholic Church at this period seems not to be adequate as the main source of remedy to their hopeless situation. The welfare service need at this period of war devastation was beyond the available source of relief. Relief materials were shared to the people irrespective of denomination. The Aladura prayer houses and the Pentecostals displayed unique capacity to draw down the power of the divine which is in affiliation to the nature of Africans, so it thrived well. Many people who equally needed rehabilitation took to opening of prayer houses, not for sincere religious/social welfare services to the people but as a way of alleviating their own problems too, as people will contribute money to the prayer houses. The true situation and the later consequential instances were hidden under the platform of attending to immediate confusion and problem created by the war.

Madiebo (1980) expresses the hopeless situation when he mentioned in his writing the opinions of different meetings and different leaders who advised that the war should be stopped. Their suggestion was born considering the level of humiliating agony the people were passing through, saddled with the problem of rehabilitation and especially in urgency. Amidst this state of confusion, fraudulent acts, fake prayers, fake healing, and cheating developed in the church and the society.

As time went on, events took shape to the realities of the moment and so did Christianity. The growing complexity of the society made new demands on the activities that surround man‘s life. The motherless babies such as Ahiaeke Motherless Babies Home, Umuahia, Okwelle

Motherless Babies Home, Okigwe, Sisters of the Needy Motherless Babies Home, Nekede and many others have expanded to include the services of protecting and providing for the mothers of unexpected pregnancies till the baby is delivered to ensure the safety of the mothers and the children.

The Caritas is a catholic organization that supplies relief materials and aids to war- stricken people and socially depressed society. During the Nigeria-Biafra war, (1967-1970), Caritas supplied, food, clothing and drugs continually to the people. They equally attended to the sick and the maimed. They took with them some who needed more intensive care when they are returning.

Justice, Development, Peace and Caritas Commission (JDPC) is another organization in the Catholic Church that is instituted to cater for the welfare of the people. Apart from supplying the welfare needs of the poor, which included food and routine drugs, they equally taught people to know their civic rights, duties and responsibilities. They are also the mouth piece of the oppressed and are more concerned with the welfare of the entire society while catering for the needs of the indigents. As a committee, they had serious financial challenge which explained the poor funding, inadequate close monitoring and the widely alleged diversion of welfare materials to unapproved channels or spheres of operation.

Recently under the Archbishop in-charge of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, Archbishop Obinna J.V.C., Eu-care is instituted. Informations were gathered from some parishioners of St. Paul‘s Catholic parish, Owerri and Maria Assumpta Cathederal Owerri. A. Uzoukwu and R. Ofoegbu (personal Communication 14th May, 2017) explain that Eu-care is the Eucharistic care for the vulnerable. It has representatives in the parishes in Owerri Diocese. It was inaugurated at

St. Mulumba parish, Wetheral road, Owerri. Part of their duty is to search out for the indigents, supply their details to the church from where they will receive adequate care and supply of relief materials. It has been established under Eu-care obligations to collect relief materials from the parishes every third Friday and supply the relief materials collected to Maria Assumpta Cathedral of Owerri Archdiocese. The indigents on every Tuesday of the week gather at the pavilion to receive food, drugs, clothing, cash, medical services and so on, to alleviate economic tension on them. G. Alaribe, a chaplain with Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, (Personal Communication on May 7th 2017), attested to the existence of Eu-care as a means of providing social welfare services in Owerri diocese.

The medical services, attention to the elderly and weak priest, the motherless baby‘s homes, schools for the scholarship schemes, poverty alleviation schemes and many other social welfare services that meet the demand of time came into existence and took shape with the changing society despite all odd and complexity of human nature. Courtesy of the humanitarian services for which the church has long been known. In all these services rendered, the society does not seem to acknowledge the church for the eminent humanitarian services of such magnanimity.

The issue of ambiguity and vagueness of the role of the mainline churches, especially the Catholic Church in social welfare services in Owerri Ecclesiastical Province in particular and Igboland in general have opened a lot of questions by well-meaning people. A cross section of the society may have thought that religious life does not extend to social welfare services by the Catholic Church. Seeing social welfare services as not part of the cardinal programmes of the Catholic Church in Owerri Ecclesiastical Province and Igbo society seems contrary to the socio- economic development of the body of Christ.

This above disposition, doubt and misrepresentation tend to leave members of the Catholic Church in Owerri Ecclesiastical Province insignificant both socially and economically. It becomes imperative, therefore, that this study is carried out in order to bring to limelight the various aspects of social welfare services of the Catholic Church in Owerri Ecclesiastical Province