{"id":70246,"date":"2022-08-15T18:30:25","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T17:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong"},"modified":"2022-08-15T19:42:47","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T18:42:47","slug":"pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong","title":{"rendered":"Pope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The Catholic Church in Nigeria has rejected the apology by Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State over his utterances on the Pope.<\/p>\n

The group, under the aegis of Mass Servants Association of Nigeria (MSAN), said it is not enough for the governor to express remorse, adding that he must prove it by embarking on a 40-day fast and step down from his role as the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign council.<\/p>\n

Recall that the governor had tendered an apology to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, over alleged \u2018blasphemous\u2019 comments about the Holy Father.<\/p>\n

While admitting that it was an error on his part to have linked the Catholic Pontiff with Nigeria\u2019s politics, he begged for forgiveness and understanding from the Catholic Church through the Bishops\u2019 conference.<\/p>\n

But in a statement signed by Moses Idoko, the MSAN said Lalong must repent and return every penny from the promoters of Muslim-Muslim ticket.<\/p>\n

According to Idoko, the governor should go a step further to resign as the DG of the APC\u2019s presidential campaign council to show true repentance.<\/p>\n

Quoting the Canon Law, Idoko said \u201cLalong must confess to the priest for reconciliation with God and with the Catholic Church\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added that \u201ceven though God is merciful and forgiving, he does not declare the guilty to be guiltless (Ex 34:7).<\/p>\n

\u201cSin carries with it a need for expiation even after it has been forgiven. After David sinned, the prophet Nathan told him: \u2018The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die: But since you have utterly spurned the Lord by this deed, the child born to you must surely die\u2019 (2 Sam 12:13\u201314).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Catholic Church understands Jesus\u2019 death as expiation for the sins \u2018of the whole world\u2019 (1 Jn 2: 2). This, though, does not eliminate the need for expiation of the effects of sin. In the sacrament of confession or reconciliation, the penance helps to remedy the disorders caused by sin (CCC 1459). Because sins often harm others, simple justice also requires doing what is possible \u2018to repair the harm\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the case of Lalong, he has blasphemed. He showed alarming disrespect to God and the Pope. The governor made sacrilegious remarks about God and our spiritual leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cExodus 22:28 states, \u2018You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler (Pope) of your people\u2019. Such blasphemy is subject to punishment by death. For, to revile God (or those whom he appointed) was to call into question the integrity and holiness of God himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, Lalong has apologised and claims to have repented. But his supposed show of remorse is not enough. He must prove it with action.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, the governor must embark on a 40-day fast and prayer to seek forgiveness. He must crave the face of God for turning against His people by supporting a seemingly doomed and demonic alliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut most importantly, Lalong must denounce the APC presidential ticket. He must openly condemn this evil that could potentially destroy the nation. Except, these are done, the governor\u2019s purported apology will still be seen as a charade. God can\u2019t be mocked.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. The Catholic Church in Nigeria has rejected the apology by Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State over his utterances on the Pope. The group, under the aegis of Mass Servants Association of Nigeria (MSAN), said it is not enough for the governor to express remorse, adding that he must prove it by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":70245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,28,14,26],"tags":[1570,2140,8319,672,254,4022],"class_list":["post-70246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-policy","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-nigeria-2","tag-catholics","tag-lalong","tag-nigeria","tag-pope"],"yoast_head":"\nPope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Catholic Church in Nigeria has rejected the apology by Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State over his utterances on ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Catholic Church in Nigeria has rejected the apology by Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State over his utterances on ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-15T17:30:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-15T18:42:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_1-62fa9377c6329.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"719\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Pope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-15T17:30:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-15T18:42:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong\"},\"wordCount\":536,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_1-62fa9377c6329.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Nigeria\",\"Catholics\",\"Lalong\",\"Nigeria\",\"pope\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"Policy\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong\",\"name\":\"Pope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong - Nigeria\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_1-62fa9377c6329.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-15T17:30:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-15T18:42:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The Catholic Church in Nigeria has rejected the apology by Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State over his utterances on ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_1-62fa9377c6329.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_1-62fa9377c6329.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":719,\"caption\":\"Pope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\",\"name\":\"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong - Nigeria","description":"The Catholic Church in Nigeria has rejected the apology by Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State over his utterances on ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong","og_description":"The Catholic Church in Nigeria has rejected the apology by Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State over his utterances on ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong","og_site_name":"Nigeria","article_published_time":"2022-08-15T17:30:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-15T18:42:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":719,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_1-62fa9377c6329.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Pope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong","datePublished":"2022-08-15T17:30:25+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-15T18:42:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong"},"wordCount":536,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_1-62fa9377c6329.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Nigeria","Catholics","Lalong","Nigeria","pope"],"articleSection":["all news","homepage-english","Policy","twitter"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong","name":"Pope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong - Nigeria","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_1-62fa9377c6329.jpg","datePublished":"2022-08-15T17:30:25+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-15T18:42:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The Catholic Church in Nigeria has rejected the apology by Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State over his utterances on ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_1-62fa9377c6329.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_1-62fa9377c6329.jpg","width":1280,"height":719,"caption":"Pope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/pope-resign-embark-on-40-day-prayer-catholics-tell-lalong#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pope: Resign, embark on 40-day prayer \u2013 Catholics tell Lalong"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/","name":"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}