ON THE 12TH OF MAY 2018, THE EDITOR –IN-CHIEF (HENRY EZEALA CCE) AND THE EDITORIAL SECRETARY (OGBUNOYE EVARISTUS) OF SATELLITE MAGAZINE WAS GRANTED AUDIENCE BY THE AUXILIARY BISHOP OF ONITSHA ARCHDIOCESE; MOST REVD. DR. DENIS C. ISIZOH, WHERE HE TALKED ABOUT PRIESTHOOD, VOCATION, AND THE CHALLENGES OF SEMINARY FORMATION IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD…
 
Satellite: Good Evening My Lord, Please can you speak to us briefly about your personal experiences on the journey to the Priesthood?

Bishop Denis: When I was growing up, I was an altar boy. Our Parish Priest then was Irish. The first time I thought of the possibility of becoming a priest was during the Nigerian civil war (1967 – 1970) when I saw two seminarians working with Caritas to distribute food to the hungry. That thought was short-lived. Decisions about my future were largely taken by my father. He told me about everything I could become but never mentioned “Reverend Father”. It was only after the civil war (1970) that, flipping through the pages of the magazine called Catholic Life, I saw photos of all the chapels of minor seminaries in Nigeria and I began to ask questions about the process of becoming reverend father. Eventually I applied, after much drilling by my father, took entrance exam to All Hallows’ Seminary Onitsha, passed and entered the seminary. I studied philosophy at Bigard Memorial Seminary Ikot Ekpene Philosophy campus now known as St. Joseph’s Major Seminary Ikot Ekpene and then I did theology at Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu. I was ordained priest on the 28th of September 1985.

Satellite: Thank You My Lord, Please can you share with us your impression of the present seminary formation and its impact on priests?

Bishop Denis: Actually, for nearly two decades I haven’t been following the programme of the seminary formation in Nigeria but I see their products – the Priests and those who chose other ways of life in the society. My impression is neither totally positive nor completely negative. I find it unfair to use my own time and the experience of the seminary formation I received, considering the nature of the society in which I grew up, to judge the present situation in seminaries. From diocese to diocese, region to region, there are significant differences on what to expect from those coming out of the seminaries today. We had only one major seminary in the whole of the eastern region. Seminarians of my time grew up knowing one another very well. We were trained in one tradition by the staff formed almost in the same place. We knew what to expect from other priests and seminarians. Bigard had a tradition and a standard applied uniformly in the whole of Eastern Nigeria (Onitsha, Owerri, and Calabar ecclesiastical provinces). Now it is totally different. Many new priests in our dioceses today were trained in different seminaries, with diverse backgrounds. One is not always sure what to expect from priests trained in different seminaries. During our time, the seminary formation was arranged in such a way to bridge the gap of communication and understanding in the society. If we take as example the use of Igbo language, there was a kind of central Igbo which we spoke in the seminary. The dialects were largely suppressed. We understood one another. When I visited my friends from Nsukka or Owerri, and they spoke in their real dialects, it was difficult for me to follow the conversation. The common seminary formation created a culture that made it possible to bridge the gap of our differences. Today, with many seminaries all over the area, it is very easy to notice these differences: language, lifestyle, worldview, etc. Back to the question you asked me: overall, I affirm that the seminary formation today is still of very high quality. This is my impression.

​Satellite: Do you think that the present Seminary formation equips the seminarians properly for the contemporary challenges in the society of today?

Bishop Denis: The aim of the seminary formation is to prepare future priests to serve in specific communities, responding to the challenges in the society. It is the reason for setting up seminaries as institutions to train future priests on how to handle the needs of their time. One area I sincerely think that the current seminary formation must be reviewed has to do with the bad influence of Pentecostalism on our Christians. The establishment of many so-called ministries, even by Catholic Priests, constitutes a major challenge. Many young priests I see today seem to be poorly equipped to handle aspects of neo-paganism and the onslaught of the prosperity gospel. I think that the Seminary formation has not adequately prepared future priests on how to handle these new challenges. Something should be done, and urgently too.

Satellite: The Synod on Priestly formation entitled one of their deliberative documents “the formation of priests in the circumstances of the present day” can you please enlighten us on what this implies in the Nigerian context?

Bishop Denis: Priests are leaders in the community. A confused person cannot lead. An ignorant person should not lead. A leader must know those he or she is leading. A leader must feel the pulse of his followers. He must understand the challenges they face – what Pope Francis called “the smell of the sheep”. He must understand their weaknesses, their joys, their sorrows, etc. Somebody summarized the qualities of a leader as: honesty and integrity, commitment and passion, decision making capabilities, accountability, creativity and innovational ability, and so on. For a leader to exercise these qualities, he or she must know very well the society in which he is operating. The document on priestly formation encourages equipping the future priests with this profound familiarity with the “circumstances of the present day” in order to be truly leaders in the society.
 
Satellite: So many young people in the society think that the priesthood is a comfortable profession that assures economic security, what can you say about this?

Bishop Denis: What do you mean by economic security?

Satellite: They see the priesthood as a comfortable profession which one can go into in order to get a car and a house and constant financial upkeep…

Bishop Denis: (Cuts in...) But it is not in every place that you have it that way. Priesthood is not a lifestyle of comfort. We have just buried two priests killed in Makurdi diocese? In many parts of the world, priests live relatively very poor. There are places where they are hated, just because they are priests. Some don’t have provision for their old age. In sickness, some are abandoned to die. I know a place where parishioners requested the Bishop to remove a priest who was sick because they did not want him to die in their parish. Cars, houses, constant financial upkeep… what are these? Deep inside, fully considered, the temporary comfort provided by them do not last. Why then are many young people attracted to the priesthood? It must be clearly understood that priesthood is both a gift and a mystery. While some people are entering the seminary, others find it difficult to stay there for any length of time. It is just God’s gift. Most people do not enter the priesthood in order to become rich. There are people who enter the seminary and become poorer. There are priests who come from well-to-do families who are posted to places where they have nothing to eat, no decent clothes to wear, no money to spend. In some parts of the world, priests are targets for attack and abuse. But, there are exceptions. Sadly, some people enter the seminary to lift themselves out of poverty. These do not constitute the majority. If we truly understand it, priesthood is a gift which God gives gratuitously. No one deserves to be a priest. It is a privilege to be invited. Priesthood is a mystery. We do not fully understand it. When called to this exulted office, it a gift to the Church…to the whole world. We strive everyday to understand why we are called and what we are called to do. Given the limited consolation and despite the challenges, people accept this gift, this mystery. We many never understand fully why. Caritas Christi urget nos.

Satellite: The Church in Nigeria especially in the South East has experienced vocation boom in the recent years, what can you say about this development?

Bishop Denis: It is not everywhere that we have vocation boom. In Onitsha Archdiocese, our number is stable. We do not talk about boom. Last year we ordained very few priests. Wherever we have boom, there is challenge of quality. Boom is about number and it is different from quality. When we have boom, then we have the responsibility to prepare quality.

Satellite: Talking about Quality, How can we identify an Authentic Priest?

Bishop Denis: I do not know what you mean by an authentic priest. I remember that beautiful title of Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s book: A priest is not of his own. A priest is another Christ – alter Christus. The closer he is to being Christ-like the nearer he is to the definition of what probably you mean by “an authentic priest”. A priest follows closely the footsteps of the Good Shepherd - Christ. I often think of the relationship between a priest and Christ: I liken it to a windscreen of a car. If a driver, sitting inside the cars, sees his image on the windscreen, it means that that windscreen is dusty and dirty and should be cleaned. A good windscreen is that, which when one looks at it, one sees through to the outside.  An authentic priest would be like the windscreen of a car. Being another Christ, a priest is like the windscreen which when one looks at him, one sees Christ and not the priest himself. Such priest-windscreen is an authentic one. But if one sees this priest and not Christ, he is not an authentic priest. Through an “authentic priest”, we see Christ in action.

Satellite: A prominent feature in the lifestyle of Pope Francis is his humility and spectacular life of evangelical poverty; in what ways can the seminarian of today in Nigeria imbibe these virtues?

Bishop Denis: You want to be a poor religious (laughs)…Poverty, not by choice, with all that goes with it: lack of food and shelter, sickness, etc. This is not what we are talking about here. Any person in such a situation needs help. All are invited to help. As an evangelical counsel, poverty, by choice, has to do with a higher goal. One chooses to stay in a state of lack for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. One gives up what one has in order to gain graces from God. An aspect of this is what we admire in the life of Pope Francis. And when you ask me for recommendations for seminarians who want to be truly humble, let me say: my dear seminarian, don’t talk much, give listening ear to people, when someone, whether superior or inferior, does something good, give them their due credit, and acknowledge the contributions of your subordinates. A humble person will seek advice even when he knows a lot of things. Remember the famous reply given by Pope Francis to a tricky question: “Who am I to judge?”. That rhetoric question is a mark of humility.

Satellite: In the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis talks about some contemporary challenges , can you please enlighten us more on these challenges and how to overcome them, especially with regard to no.93 where he talks about “spiritual worldliness”.

Bishop Denis: I can only guess what the Holy Father wants to say. Those who express their spiritual worldliness could be called spiritual pretenders. They appear to be what they are not. They pretend to be pious, generous, humble, holy but they are not really that way. Those who genuinely pray and sacrifice, those who live authentic spiritual life, do not announce themselves.

Satellite: Finally, as young seminarians who are faced with the ‘unfortunate’ situation in our country, what advice can you give to us on how to rise above these conditions and liberate fellow Nigerians from these pitiable conditions?

Bishop Denis: What is the unfortunate situation?

Satellite: we have the political situation in Nigeria which in turmoil and the agenda..

Bishop Denis: (Cuts in..) What makes it unfortunate?

Satellite; It is unfortunate because these will constitute a major challenge for us tomorrow..

Bishop Denis: Right. They create a field of work for you. The situation you call unfortunate, that is really the context of new evangelization in your own time, it is where you are going to work. It is not unfortunate rather it is the challenge of your own time. How do you respond to it? Your world is probably different from the world of the people in the past. Somehow you feel intimidated by the challenges around you. Terrorist threats. Violence. Kidnapping. Armed robbery. Fake spiritual leaders. What do we do? How do we respond to these difficulties? We have a new reality different from what was there in the past. These issues are what you should discuss in the seminary. When you are coming out of the seminary, you should ask yourselves, how do we respond to these challenges? Every new priest, should ask: what part can I play? I see challenges. I call on our seminarians with the formators and new Priests to respond. This is your new area evangelization.  Same faith, new methods!

Satellite: Thank you so much My Lord

Bishop Denis: You are welcome. God bless you and the readers of your magazine.