Catholic Church empowers the vulnerable in Ondo

The Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Ondo, Jude Arogundade, has described the policies of government at alleviating poverty as misplaced priorities.

Arogundade said this on Sunday during the maiden edition of youth empowerment ceremony of Mary Queens of Angels’ Catholic Church, Akure. He said government should only organise the people and not to empower them. 

He blamed the government for engaging itself in empowerment programmes, instead of organising the society. 

“ What government needs to do is to organise the people. No government builds a country. America was not built by the government. It was built by the people themselves because they were organised to be able to build their country,” he said.

Twenty-five beneficiaries received cash and equipment that are worth millions of naira after they had been trained in vocations and skills such as fabrication, laundry, decoration, fashion designing, agriculture and bead- making from nine training institutes. 

Arogundade urged the church to ensure that the people are empowered in all facets.

The clergy, who approved about 50 hectares of land for the parish for its agricultural training programmes, assured the parishioners that the diocese would continue to empower the youths so that they can empower the society in return.

The Chairman of the Economic and Empowerment Committee, Senator Tony Adeniyi, said the beneficiaries: 22 youths, a widow and other two persons, had proven themselves worthy in skill and character.