Kizito Nonso Umennadi is Director of Maranatha Multimedia, the social communications department of the Catholic Diocese of Ekwulobia, and Parish Priest of St. Theresa’s Parish, Oko, Anambra State, Nigeria.
I went to the hospital not as a researcher or policy analyst, but as a priest responding to a pastoral call. A parishioner had been admitted, and my intention was simply to offer prayers and presence. What I encountered was not only illness, but quiet abandonment. The corridor was heavy with heat. Electricity failed intermittently. A nurse apologized repeatedly for…
Some years ago, during a heated conversation in a village square, I noticed how confidently people defended positions built on rumours and fear. Voices were loud. Certainty was strong. An elderly catechist who had listened quietly shook his head and muttered, “They are arguing overshadows.” No one paid attention to him, but I did. I still do. Plato’s Allegory of…
On a humid afternoon in a public secondary school in southeastern Nigeria, I was asked to address students preparing for their final examinations. After speaking about discipline and hope, I posed a simple question: What does faith mean to you? A boy in the front row raised his hand and replied without hesitation, “Faith means not asking questions.” The class…
The Vatican document Una Caro in Praise of Monogamy reaffirms the Catholic Church’s enduring teaching that marriage is an exclusive and indissoluble union between one man and one woman. For Catholics, this teaching is neither negotiable nor unfamiliar. It is rooted in Scripture, upheld by Tradition, and cherished as a sacramental sign of Christ’s faithful love for the Church. Yet,…