"Some Catholic Priests in Southeast Extort Bereaved Families – Chimamanda Adichie

By Mohammed Oluwatimileyin Taoheed
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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A Nigerian writer based in the United States, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has claimed that Catholic Church are after financial demands usually made during burial and other ceremonial rites, noting especially that it is rife in the eastern region of Nigeria.

While having an interview with the TVC News, Chimamanda narrated an ordeal of how she and her family were humiliated and extorted greatly by a Catholic Priest at St Paul’s Abba, Anambra State, during her mother’s funeral.

She described that the Priest during her mother’s Thanksgiving Mass called her out for an interview she granted months before, taking out how the Church at some points in time makes a lot of monetary demands on members.

The popular author cum feminist was quoted to have said: “This Priest at the mass called me out during my mother’s funeral with a hostile tone saying I’m against people giving money to the Church, I don’t want Church to give to the widows which made people upset and the place rowdy.

“I was shocked by his utterances and needed to address the Church; I got the Microphone and told villagers that I’m not against supporting the Church but priest ambushing/ forcing people to give and make them feel they don’t get special blessings if they don’t give money. WHY ambush poor villagers that can’t feed themselves.

“This needs to be addressed and stopped. So far, no one has faced any consequences and we have not received any apologies".

She also found a movement to curb the issue on her Instagram, encouraging those with similar experiences to share their stories.

“The wrong we suffered has not been corrected, there are people who have experienced humiliation just to give their parents a befitting Catholic funeral, and this is wrong.”