Francis met June 8 at the Vatican with a delegation from the Ahiara diocese, where priests have been refusing to accept the 2012 appointment by then pontiff, Benedict XVI, of the local bishop.
Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, reporting the pope's unusually harsh order, said today that Francis was acting "for the good of the people of God" by threatening to suspend the priests from the ministry if they didn't pledge in a letter, by July 9, "total obedience" to Francis and accept Bishop Peter Okpaleke's appointment.