The Priest’s War: Catholic community calls on YouTube to pull down controversial movie

 

Ugochukwu Favour-Mayor, Producer of the controversial Nollywood movie on YouTube, The Priest’s War, otherwise known as ‘The Cathedral’ has revealed why he made the movie.

He said the movie which recently caught the attention of the leader of the Catholic church, Pope Francis, is a true life story that happened in Ahiara, Mbaise in Imo State, where he hails from and that the story needed to be documented.

Speaking with Whispers, Ugochukwu said; “This is a true life story. But as a creative individual, I had to add a twist to it for viewers to watch and enjoy. Certain events are not specific to exactly how it happened. But I managed to use the theme to create something that viewers would see and appreciate.”

“Already, you know about the Ahiara diocesan crisis that has lingered for years now. As a son of the soil who hails from there, when I heard about the crisis, I said to myself that this would be nice if the story can be documented and sent out there.”

“I didn’t expect that it would make waves this much. Everyday I wake up to news of how people are referring to it. A lot of people feel that it exposes the politics in the church so much, while some others feel that the movie is coming to put an end to certain issues affecting the church. Whichever way, it feels good to have something that repairs societal ills” Ugochukwu, who also directed the movie, said.

Pope Francis recently reacted to the movie after it was released online, which also made movie buffs to tag the storyline as relational with that of Ahiara’s episcopal crisis.

In a tweet, Pope Francis wrote – “The world needs more light, not the kind of action displayed in the Nigerian movie, #ThePriestsWar. Only in love, in communion and in fraternity can we shine God’s light. The content of that movie shines the light of our true character that calls for a readdress and change.”

Recall that activities in the Ahiara Diocese, including Priestly/Diaconate Ordinations, and other catholic rituals were stagnant following the death of their former Bishop, late Victor Adibe Chikwe who died in 2010.

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Since then, there was unrest and holy war which erupted with the posting of Bishop Okpaleke as the Cathedral administrator, who was absolutely rejected by the majority of Mbaise nation, hence his resignation and appointment of Bishop Ugorji by the Papacy, Pope Francis.

Whispers reported that the Catholic community in Nigeria has called on YouTube to pull down the controversial movie.