ABIDJAN, MAY 25, 2018 (CISA)-The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Cote d’Ivoire (CECCI) has expressed concern over Ivorian priests, “…wandering in dioceses of old Christendom in the West,” who refuse to return to the country once their mission is over
“Bishops are increasingly confronted with the phenomenon of priests without any attachment, wandering in dioceses of old Christianity in the West, serving, we do not know, what mission,” lamented Monsignor Ignace Bessi Dogbo, Tuesday, May 22.
The President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Cote d’Ivoire (CECCI) was speaking during the bishops’ 110th Plenary Assembly held in Bingerville, Abidjan.
The bishop recommended that a “…vigorous action deserves to be undertaken to stem this tide that can only be explained by the evil of clerics or consecrated”.
In recent weeks, the Ivorian Church has been confronted with the scandal of the arrest of a priest for rape and the assassination of Fr Bernardin Brou Aka Daniel of the Diocese of Abengourou.
The Bishop also expressed concern over the three vacant dioceses in the country Korhogo Bondoukou, and Yamoussoukro.
He encouraged the Ivorian Catholic faithful to give offerings that match the “evolution of the standard of living.”
