Kinse Shako Anastasia and the Fallacy of Pity

By Valentine Obienyem

I think the former Sister, Kinse Shako Anastasia, is resorting to the fallacy of “argumentum ad misericordiam” – an appeal to pity. She appears to be seeking sympathy rather than reason. Yes, if certain depraved priests made improper advances toward you, did you yield? Were you actually violated? Moral challenges confront every believer daily, and one of the distinguishing marks of true sanctity is the ability to resist them. You cannot attack the priesthood because of the transgressions of a few.

Common sense dictates that where we have, for example, a hundred men – married or not – some will naturally give vent to their emotions in an uncontrolled manner. This is what St Augustine called “concupiscentia” – the disordered desire or inclination that persists in human nature, reminding us of our moral frailty and the constant need for grace to master our passions.

Let me put it plainly: unfaithful priests are symptoms of human weakness, not symbols of divine failure. The Church endures precisely because its moral ideal is greater than the men who sometimes betray it.

I have deliberately refrained from commenting on your case, but it now seems evident that you are psychologically challenged. How else can one explain your incessant outbursts on social media, where you churn out one post after another? I even read where you fantasised about “till death do we part.” A genuinely aggrieved person would have chosen a period of withdrawal and reflection before returning to the public space.

Your actions, however, betray a deeper struggle – a craving for attention rather than a search for healing. You behave like a person newly released from prison. Instead of finding closure, you seem determined to remain in the spotlight, feeding an audience that delights in scandal. But truth and peace are not found in public pity; they are born in silence, self-examination, and reconciliation with one’s conscience.

May I refer you to “The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas à Kempis, especially the chapter on the virtue of silence and the discipline of solitude. You may find in it a gentle reminder that wisdom often grows in quiet reflection, not in public agitation.

I have even seen where you professed Islam. There is nothing inherently wrong with that choice, but do you imagine that any Catholic institution would retain you, even if that declaration was made in jest?

Your present conduct merely provides ammunition for those who are ever eager to attack the Catholic Church. Yet, kindly note that all such efforts will ultimately come to nothing. I have consistently maintained that, though Christ Himself founded the Catholic Church, it is administered by the fallible sons of Adam – human beings subject to weakness and error.

Does the sister even realise that when Martin Luther, a Catholic priest, left the Church, he went on to marry a nun? There is hardly anything new or shocking that can be said about the Church today. Our confidence rests in Christ’s enduring promise to remain with His Church until the end of time.

Whatever may be spoken against the Catholic Church, the truth remains that it stands as the most valuable institution in human history – providing spiritual succour and moral guidance, contributing immensely to civilisation, and continually striving to make the world a better place through her social, educational, and charitable works.