L
LequteMan
Guest
Rev. Father Patrick Edet, of the Catholic Diocese of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, shocked the state when he announced his exit from the Catholic church on Wednesday.
He has been a popular voice on radio in the state through his weekly live programme called Grace and Inspiration. He has been a priest for 11 years.
However, on Planet 101.1FM on Wednesday, instead of airing his usual inspirational message which has over the years endeared him to thousands within and outside the state, Mr. Edet dropped a bombshell.
“On 31 of July, I resigned from my services, my duties and obligations as a Catholic priest,” he said.
“I ceased to be a Catholic priest in my thinking, in my spirit, in my soul, (and) in my body.
“Yesterday, the 1st of August, was my first day outside the laws, the regulations, (and) the authority of the Catholic church.
“In my mind, every law that bound me bound me because I submitted myself to the Catholic Church as an institution.
“Having submitted my resignation letter to my authorities in the Catholic Church, in my spirit, soul and body, I am free from every law that guided me. I submit myself to one authority – God,” he said.
“Peace has been taken away from me for years. I live in fear and in doubt. Sometimes I doubt myself – am I really right, am I in the right place,” he said.
Mr. Edet praised the Catholic Church as being “so organised” and “the best institution that has ever been built” by man, but however said that the space given to him in the Catholic Church as a minister was so small.
“A box is already made for you and you cannot go outside that box,” he explained.
“You cannot know God beyond that box. You cannot express God beyond that box. And any attempt for you to go beyond that box brings you label.
“The God that I have discovered in life is a God that cannot be fully known. That God is a God that cannot be fully predicted and cannot be fully captured in human expression otherwise he will cease to be a mystery. That is a God I have come to accept as my God.
“I have come to realise that serving that God you need freedom. When that freedom is limited you cannot fully serve that God.
“Each time I tried to cross the line, the thing I meet crushes me on the inside and makes me feel guilty. But I cannot stop doing it. There’s a pull inside of me telling me there is more, and life was meant to be more and that more is found in freedom in God.
He then said he is ready to accept the consequences of leaving the church.
“The reason I am doing this is that I want to be right with God first. I want to go to heaven when I die.
“It is not the Church that called me, it is God who called me that is above the Church, and my interest is to be right with Him first and have peace with Him first.”
He has been a popular voice on radio in the state through his weekly live programme called Grace and Inspiration. He has been a priest for 11 years.
However, on Planet 101.1FM on Wednesday, instead of airing his usual inspirational message which has over the years endeared him to thousands within and outside the state, Mr. Edet dropped a bombshell.
“On 31 of July, I resigned from my services, my duties and obligations as a Catholic priest,” he said.
“I ceased to be a Catholic priest in my thinking, in my spirit, in my soul, (and) in my body.
“Yesterday, the 1st of August, was my first day outside the laws, the regulations, (and) the authority of the Catholic church.
“In my mind, every law that bound me bound me because I submitted myself to the Catholic Church as an institution.
“Having submitted my resignation letter to my authorities in the Catholic Church, in my spirit, soul and body, I am free from every law that guided me. I submit myself to one authority – God,” he said.
“Peace has been taken away from me for years. I live in fear and in doubt. Sometimes I doubt myself – am I really right, am I in the right place,” he said.
Mr. Edet praised the Catholic Church as being “so organised” and “the best institution that has ever been built” by man, but however said that the space given to him in the Catholic Church as a minister was so small.
“A box is already made for you and you cannot go outside that box,” he explained.
“You cannot know God beyond that box. You cannot express God beyond that box. And any attempt for you to go beyond that box brings you label.
“The God that I have discovered in life is a God that cannot be fully known. That God is a God that cannot be fully predicted and cannot be fully captured in human expression otherwise he will cease to be a mystery. That is a God I have come to accept as my God.
“I have come to realise that serving that God you need freedom. When that freedom is limited you cannot fully serve that God.
“Each time I tried to cross the line, the thing I meet crushes me on the inside and makes me feel guilty. But I cannot stop doing it. There’s a pull inside of me telling me there is more, and life was meant to be more and that more is found in freedom in God.
He then said he is ready to accept the consequences of leaving the church.
“The reason I am doing this is that I want to be right with God first. I want to go to heaven when I die.
“It is not the Church that called me, it is God who called me that is above the Church, and my interest is to be right with Him first and have peace with Him first.”
