By Michael Chukwuebuka, Reporting
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has narrated how a Catholic priest extorted her family during her mother’s funeral in the South East of Nigeria.
The renowned novelist said the development was a common phenomenon in the Catholic Church in the South East where the priest heap financial demands on peasants during burial and other ceremonial rites.
In an interview with TVC, Chimamanda narrated how she and her family were humiliated and extorted by a Catholic Priest at St Paul’s Abba, Anambra State, during her mother’s funeral.
She said the Priest, during her mother’s Thanksgiving Mass, called her out for an interview she granted months earlier, pointing out how the Church, sometimes, makes a lot of monetary demands on members.
The Americanah writer 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 who had 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.
“To do this at my mother’s funeral, who devoted her life in that Church, I was sad the Priest lacked compassion to give my mum the last respect.
“My mother deserved better, that Priest failed at his duty to comfort us but increase our pains.
“I’ve not been able to mourn my mother in peace because this man has not faced any action for his irresponsibility nor apologised.
“This Priest bullied my family about money when my father died, he was upset I gave a cow, and didn’t monetize it, even for Bazaar I had to withdraw cash because he does not want cheques or transfers.
“I’m saying this publicly because I don’t want this to happen to people anymore.
“There’s so much that happens during burials in Igbo land, especially Catholic Church in the southeast which shows the Priest is lacking in compassion.
“They make all sort of demands and may refuse to bury someone because of rites that can’t be fulfilled.
“This needs to be addressed and stopped. So far no one has faced any consequences and we have not received any apologies.”
According to the social activist writer, she and her family never got justice or an apology following the embarrassing incident.
She then added that she was speaking up publicly to save other folks from suffering the same or similar fate.
Miffed by the development, the Half Of A Yellow Sun author has set up a movement to end 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,” she asserted.
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