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Opus Securitatis

by CSN-Institution

Mandate

Opus Securitatis is an organ of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria which works to guarantee retirement assistance to priests who are elderly and the terminally ill through the provision of suitable social security.

VISION

A life of wellbeing for priests in old age and infirmity.

MISSION

To guarantee retirement assistance to priests who are elderly and the terminally ill through the provision of suitable social security.

ORIGIN

Due to the emergence of indigenous priests through the growth of the local Church, there arose a question of who takes care of them when they are old. This is because while the foreign missionaries had proper and formal retirement arrangement made for them in their respective homelands, for our indigenous priests, nothing was in place.

In order to find an answer to the above question, some Churches in mission territories who were already receiving assistance from Missio-Aachen in Germany put forward a proposal to open a Pension Fund for Clergy in the 1970s. Missio Aachen adopted the proposal as a project of inter-ecclesial help and, with the approval of the Superior Council of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), the Opus Securitatis was launched in May 1976. 

SUSTENANCE

  • At the initial stage, the project was sponsored by the priests in Germany mobilized by the PMS. The PMS also paid a subsidy to sustain the scheme. The priests in the mission territories made their own contribution in the form of two Masses per month.

TRANSITION

  • In May 2003, the General Assembly of the PMS, de-centralized Opus Securitatis and made it the responsibility of the respective diocesan Bishops or National Bishops’ Conferences.
  • On May 25, 2004, the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples addressed a letter to all local Ordinaries of the ecclesiastical circumscriptions under the Congregation and expressed among other issues that the Opus Securitatis Pension Scheme be centrally organized for all the dioceses belonging to every Conference. In his words: “although the individual Bishop has the right to define his own economic policy independently, I strongly recommend with insistence that, as far as possible, this new system of pensions for the local clergy be organized for all the dioceses together by the national Bishops’ Conference. This will guarantee economic stability, better administration of the Fund, more economical contracts, more efficiency with one administration and, most important, a spirit of solidarity among the dioceses of the respective country”.

 

NATIONAL OPUS SECURITATIS

  • In accordance with the strong recommendation of the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the CBCN at its September 2004 plenary, decided for a collective management of the funds. In such a way that each diocese is involved, and the funds belonging to each diocese remains at the credit of the diocese, and on maturity is transferred to the Diocesan Opus Securitatis Committee for management in favour of the beneficiaries.

 

Governance and Leadership (Board of Directors)

The first Opus Securitatis Board was inaugurated by the CBCN on November 14, 2005, to govern the operations of the Agency and administer the funds with the first Bishop Chairman, Most Rev. Hilary Okeke, followed by His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, and Most Rev. Gabriel “Leke” Abegunrin. Most Rev. Matthew Ishaya Audu, whose guidance continues to strengthen the agency, currently chairs the Board.

How It Works

Priests contribute annual premiums through their dioceses. These funds are invested through Catholic Investment Concept Ltd (CICL), and benefits are paid to eligible priests at the retirement age of 65, through their dioceses.

Opus Securitatis operates two schemes:

Scheme A: Original dioceses at the time of transfer to Nigeria

Scheme B: New dioceses carved out from Scheme A dioceses

Premium categories range from ₦10,000 to ₦50,000 per priest per annum, with interest accruing based on contribution level and timeliness.

Commitment

Opus Securitatis remains committed to safeguarding the future of priests who have faithfully served the Church and humanity.

 

60th Anniversary