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(LifeSiteNews) — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria is putting its foot down when it comes to liturgical abuses.

In a statement released August 15, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the conference urged bishops to bring an “immediate” end to unsuitable practices that have found their way into the Mass.

“The liturgy is not a private playground for personal innovation. It is not a platform for the self-expression of the celebrant. It is a sacred trust, handed down by the Church, which must be celebrated according to the established norms and traditions,” they said in a letter to priests.

Nigeria is a west African nation that borders the Atlantic Ocean. Approximately 12 percent of the country’s 230 million population is Catholic. The Holy Ghost Fathers, which was led by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre – the founder of the Society of St. Pius X – from 1962 until 1968, have long had a presence in the country, as have other missionary groups.

The conference pointed to a long list of “aberrations” that need to be stopped. Among those that were mentioned include “deviations from the prescribed prayers and rubrics of the Mass including the Eucharistic Prayer, irreverent handling of the Eucharist, walking down the aisle while carrying the monstrance during Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and blessing the people using gestures akin to sprinkling of holy water.”

The bishops also alleged that there is a “commercialization of the liturgy” taking place where there are “too many collections and fundraising right in the middle of liturgical celebrations.”

Inappropriate music, secular songs, failure to use proper vestments, and a lack of preparation for the liturgy are also present, they said.

“These grave violations are not only a direct affront to the sanctity of the liturgy but also a source of scandal and embarrassment to the Church in Nigeria,” the bishops stated. “We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, any and all abuses within the sacred liturgy.”

As reported by LifeSiteNews in July, Catholic bishops from the Archdiocese of Ibadan in west Nigeria rebuked the blasphemous opening ceremony at this year’s Olympic Games. In a statement, the bishops said the performance was part of “deliberate ongoing attempts in Europe and America to repurpose and demean Christian themes.”

Many of the liturgical norms in most Western countries today were not called for in Sacrosantcum Concilium, Vatican II’s 1962 document on the liturgy. Receiving Holy Communion in the hand instead of on the tongue while kneeling, the removal of altar rails, relying on extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist to distribute Communion, and scores of other practices were not explicitly mentioned.

At the same time, Sacrosantcum Concilium – as well as later revisions to the General Instructions of the Roman Missal – do call on priests to ensure that the “active participation” of the laity is a preeminent consideration in their Masses. Proper ecclesiastical authorities are also empowered to “carefully and prudently consider which elements from the traditions and culture of individual peoples might appropriately be admitted into divine worship.”

In February 2024, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, excoriated the Vatican’s December Declaration Fiducia Supplicans that called for the blessings of homosexual couples.

“There is no possibility of blessing same-sex couples or same-sex unions,” His Excellency stated in an address to the 2024 First Plenary Assembly of the national bishops’ conference. The “ambiguity” of Fiducia Supplicans has disrupted Catholic unity and “added to our pains.”

According to a report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, 2023 marked the bloodiest year on record for Islamic attacks against Christians in Nigeria, with more than 8,000 killed and thousands more abducted and forcibly displaced, including many priests.

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