The Catholic Church has debunked the statement credited to former Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Francis Cardinal Arinze, on social media about killings in Plateau State.
The Church said Cardinal Arinze is not on any social media platform, describing the statement as false. According to the Church, the comments attributed to him on X, formerly Twitter, where he reportedly supported a purported decision of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to defend and arm themselves against Fulani killers in Plateau State, calling for provision of necessary ‘gadgets’ for Christians there, is fake and malicious.
The Social Communications Directorate, Archdiocese of Onitsha, in a statement, not only denounced the activities of such purveyors of falsehood but also clarified that Arinze never authored such a statement nor authorised anybody to speak on his behalf over such matters.
The statement noted that while Arinze detests and condemns the killing of any human being under any guise, irrespective of religious affiliation, place of domicile and background, including unjust exploitation of people, the statement circulating on social media never emanated from him.
The statement said: “It is quite unfortunate and condemnable that someone can ‘manufacture’ an account posing as Cardinal Arinze. The public should be wary of such handle and know that such is purely fake and of dubious intent. Arinze is not on Twitter or any other social media handles. Relevant authorities should also investigate and apprehend those behind such criminal acts, while any action or comments emanating from such a handle is hereby disowned and disassociated from in its entirety.”
