Vanguard
By Gabriel Enogholase
A new Archbishop for the Benin Metropolitan See of the Catholic Church was yesterday installed. He is Most Rev. Augustine Obiora Akubueze who until recently was the Bishop of Uromi Diocese.

His installation by the Apostolic Nuncio in Nigeria, Archbishop Augustine Kasujja had laid to rest this crisis which had faced the Church over his appointment.

Performing the installation, His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI who was represented by the Papal Nuncio to Nigeria, Archbishop Augustine Kasujja advised the new Archbishop to see his appointment as the promotion of renewed evangelization, promotion of the Catholic Church and” more necessarily to revive the faith of our Christ savior and rediscover the theological teachings of the Catholic Supreme Pope and the Bishops”.

The Catholic Pontiff also expressed gratitude to the Archdiocese Administrator, His Lordship, and Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Gbuji for the way and manner he administered the Archdiocese until the appointment of a new head for the Archdiocese.

Speaking at the installation ceremony, the Out going Administrator of the Archdiocese, apologized for the turbulence caused by those he described as “a handful of dissident members of an unorganized and unrecognized group in the church in Benin City”.

He stated that the dissident members who he said wanted to halt the installation of the new Archbishop had caused a lot of embarrassment in the Catholic Church in Nigeria and the Holy Sea.

Most Rev. Gbuji who was apparently referring to the litigation instituted by Benin Liturgical Group, however commended the Catholic Legal Luminaries, Knights of the Church who came together to enforce law and order and promote justice to ensure the installation took place.

He also expressed gratitude to the state government and the law enforcement agents for providing the needed security, law and order for the happy outcome of the installation of the new Archbishop.

He said the presence of a great number of people at the installation ceremony which included, the clergy and the religious at the even was a credible testimony to “Our Catholic belief the one Catholic and Apostolic faith”.

Gbuji said the Catholic Church today through the installation has once more expressed all maturity of faith in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ and their unalloyed loyalty to the leadership of Christ and the Holy Father, the Pope.

He therefore, urged the clergy, the religious and the faithful to fully cooperate with the new Metropolitan Archbishop.