Although Canon Law grants priests of the Roman Catholic Church the freedom to renounce their calling, instances of priests becoming laymen are rare.
Rev Fr Dieudonne Akawung Tazisong, a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mamfe, has been officially removed from the priesthood after gaining Pope Francis’ approval to quit.
He had applied to get the Vatican’s official approval of him quitting priesthood, said Bishop Aloysius Abangalo Fondong of Mamfe in a February 20 pastoral letter.
The Bishop confirmed the priest’s new status as a lay person, while urging Catholic Christians to pray that he remains faithful.
“Some time ago, Rev Fr Dieudonne Akawung Tazisong, priest of the Diocese of Mamfe, humbly requested from Pope Francis the dispensation from sacred celibacy and from all other obligations concerned with sacred ordination to the priesthood. In response, His Holiness Pope Francis, through a rescript of dispensation, has graciously granted the request,” Bishop Abangalo stated.
“By this letter, therefore, I wish to bring to your notice that Rev Fr Dieudonne Akawung Tazisong has been removed from the clerical state,” he said, adding that he will no longer be permitted to perform any clerical duties on behalf of the Church.
However, the Bishop did not say why Rev Akawung is quitting his priestly duties, but called on Catholic Christians to pray that he remains “a proven son of the Church”.
Although Canon Law grants priests of the Roman Catholic Church the freedom to renounce their calling, instances of priests becoming laymen are rare.
Such rare cases have often left tongues wagging. In February last year, the former financial secretary of the Buea Diocese, Rev Fr George Galame, was spotted proposing to his girlfriend Eta Obi Jamila in a viral video reportedly shot in America.
However, the Buea Diocese never commented on the viral video and did not say if Rev Galame had abandoned the priesthood or not before making the marriage proposal.
