Priest evicted from Ediofe Catholic parish
Fr Lazarus Ejoyi, looks on as he gets evicted from Ediofe Cathedral Parish on Monday. PHOTO BY FELIX WAROM OKELLO.
What you need to know:
- The West Nile regional police spokesperson, Ms Josephine Angucia, told Daily Monitor that: “The case file of the assault case has been sent to Resident State Attorney for sanctioning.”
- The case was reported at Arua Central Police Station where assault case was registered against Monsignor Adeti under Arua SD REF: 35/29/04/2020.
The embattled Catholic Priest, Fr Lazarus Ejoyi, whose hand was broken by a fellow priest in a fist fight two weeks ago, was on Monday evicted from Ediofe Cathedral Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish.
Fr Ejoyi was two weeks ago beaten by the Parish Priest, also the Vicar General of Arua diocese, Msgr Casto Adeti, over alleged insults.
On Monday, a Fuso lorry was stationed at the Presbytery where Fr Ejoyi’s items including his old Honda motorcycle, were loaded onto the truck and was driven back to his ancestral home.
“By the way I don’t eat in Ediofe. He has assaulted me and he says that the law is at their hands and my case cannot proceed. And he mobilized people to evict me out of the house of God. And I am a Catholic Priest. This has become like a police church. Right now I leave myself in the hands of Jesus Christ who called me to serve him,” Fr Ejoyi told Daily Monitor.
Fr Ejoyi’s problems started in 2017 when the Parish Priest locked his room and asked that he should leave the Presbytery arguing that the Parish could not afford to feed him. This was after he was allegedly transferred to Vurra Parish, but refused.
Fr Ejoyi, has insisted that he could not move to a new parish without a formal letter written to him. He says the Bishop communicated to him verbally.
In an earlier statement, Msgr Adeti said: “Fr.Ejoyi was not appointed to work or stay at Ediofe Parish Priest’s residence and should find elsewhere to stay and feed himself.”
Responding to the eviction, Bishop Sabino Ocan Odoki, said: “If the Pastoral council acted like that, it is not out of bad heart. I think something was going on there and they needed to act. For me am ready to receive Fr Ejoyi, but he refused.”
“In any case, I would be the one to help him,” the Bishop added.
The West Nile regional police spokesperson, Ms Josephine Angucia, told Daily Monitor that: “The case file of the assault case has been sent to Resident State Attorney for sanctioning.”
The case was reported at Arua Central Police Station where assault case was registered against Monsignor Adeti under Arua SD REF: 35/29/04/2020.
