Four alleged religious obtain deacon ordination fraudulently
(Katholisch)
It was quickly discovered that the Bishop of Lokoja had been tricked by fraudsters: four alleged members of the order fraudulently obtained an ordination as deacons. The diocese has distanced itself from the men – and is now looking for ways to limit the damage.
Les catholiques du Nigeria face au succès des Églises pentecôtistes
(Matthieu Lasserre. La Croix).
« Tu ne fais pas de photos. Si on nous arrête, on dira que tu es un ami. » Au volant, Godfrey Ejimofor donne ses consignes pour éviter d’être remarqués.
(Matthieu Lasserre. La Croix).
L’Afrique, avenir de l’Église catholique ? Cet été, La Croix part à la rencontre de ce continent, laboratoire du catholicisme de demain, et de ses propres enjeux. Aujourd’hui, premier volet de cette série au Nigeria, où les catholiques, en pleine croissance, ne cachent pas leur ambition de devenir les missionnaires du XXIe siècle face à un Nord global de plus en plus sécularisé.
Nigeria bishops warn EU deal could push abortion, gender rights on Africa
(Ngala Killian Chimtom. Crux).
Catholic bishops in Nigeria are calling for changes to an economic cooperation agreement between the EU and Africa, claiming it would force African nations to adopt policies on sexuality, abortion and gender contrary to their social, cultural and religious values. “The agreement looks innocuous and attractive on the surface, but underneath it is carefully blended with post-modern secularistic ideologies that significantly undermine the moral, cultural, and religious beliefs of Nigerian citizens,” the country’s bishops said in a July 12 statement.
Nigeria’s Christians “still targeted on a daily basis”: Catholic Priest on Persecution
(Staff. ACI Africa).
The Director of Mission and Dialogue at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) has expressed concern about persistent Christian persecution in the West African nation, where he says followers of Jesus Christ are targeted.
Christians in Nigeria praise U.S. Congress for passing aid for religious freedom
(Ngala Killian Chimtom. Crux).
A leading Catholic official in Africa has praised a newly approved Bill in the U.S. Congress to giving funding to promote religious liberty, calling it “a significant shift in US foreign policy.” The State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill is designed to support religious freedom around the world, and specifically increases funding to support “religious freedom, human rights, atrocity investigation and documentation, and humanitarian assistance for communities impacted by violence in Nigeria, including through faith-based organizations and nongovernmental organizations from the affected communities.”
(Jude Atemanke. ACI Africa).
Christian leaders in Nigeria have expressed concern about the June 29 suicide attacks in the country’s Borno State that left dozens dead, and described the attacks as “senseless acts of violence”.
On June 29, at least 18 people were reportedly killed and 30 others injured after a series of attacks by suspected female suicide bombers in the town of Gwoza in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state.
(Peter Pinedo. ACI Africa).
Religious freedom activists are criticizing the Biden State Department for continuing to leave Nigeria off its “countries of particular concern” (CPC) watchlist, despite the department’s own report highlighting the violent persecution of Christians in the country.
(AP News).
Female suicide bombers targeted a wedding, a funeral and a hospital in coordinated attacks in northern Nigeria that killed at least 18 people, local authorities said Sunday. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the the attacks in Borno state, which has been heavily affected by the insurgency launched in 2009 by Boko Haram. The extremist group previously has used women and girls in suicide bombings, prompting suspicions that some attackers come from the many thousands of people the militants have kidnapped over the years, including schoolchildren. The first suicide bomber detonated a device during a marriage celebration in the northeastern town of Gwoza, Barkindo Saidu, director-general of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, told reporters.
John Cardinal Onaiyekan has encouraged Catholic Church leaders in the West African nation of Nigeria to speak out against injustices in the country.
In a report following the inauguration of the Catholic Social Teaching (CST) program at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) headquartered in the country’s Catholic Archdiocese Abuja, Cardinal Onaiyekan is quoted as saying, “We cannot afford to remain silent in the face of injustice.”
(Silas Isenjia. ACI Africa).
Des religieuses catholiques du Ghana et du Nigeria, pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest, et leurs homologues du Cameroun, pays d’Afrique centrale, se sont exprimées sur le sort des réfugiés sur le continent, en partageant leurs idées sur la manière dont les gouvernements africains peuvent améliorer la situation des réfugiés et des personnes déplacées à l’intérieur de leur propre pays (PDI).
(Redaction. ACI Africa).
Sœur Bernadette Duru est le fer de lance de la protection des petites filles dans le diocèse catholique de Shendam au Nigeria contre les mariages précoces.
(Amnistía Internacional)
Aunque todo el mundo en el noreste de Nigeria se ha visto afectado por el conflicto, las niñas que se asociaron con Boko Haram (en adelante, niñas), en su inmensa mayoría mediante secuestros y matrimonios forzados a edades tempranas, tienen experiencias propias de su edad y género. Los delitos cometidos contra estas niñas, algunas de las cuales son mujeres jóvenes cuando abandonan Boko Haram (en adelante, niñas), tienen consecuencias que también son específicas de su edad y género, como complicaciones de salud, acceso a la educación, capacidad o deseo de volver a casarse, y estigma y rechazo por parte de la familia y las comunidades. Los delitos afectan a sus esperanzas y prioridades para su futuro. Esto significa también que las necesidades y prioridades de quienes eran niñas cuando se asociaron con Boko Haram suelen ser diferentes de las de los niños o las mujeres.
(Filipe d’Avillez and Amy Balog. ACN International).
The parish priest at St Francis Xavier’s Catholic Church, Owo, where over 40 worshippers were murdered during Pentecost Sunday in 2022, told the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that two years after the massacre, the suspects are in police custody but have not yet been brought before a court.
(Christian Today).
Images are circulating on social media showing the execution of three Christian men in Nigeria.
International Christian Concern (ICC) reports that the images were shared by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
ICC said that one photo showed the men kneeling with their arms tied behind their backs in front of machine-gun wielding executioners while another showed them being shot dead.
(Chandler Peterson. Global Christian Relief)
Ask yourself: Could you summon the courage to survive as a persecuted prisoner of Boko Haram if extremists captured you, compelled you into multiple marriages and forced you to pray to a god you didn’t believe in, day after day?
Deborah did.
For nearly two years, she was held captive by Boko Haram, confined within the walls of a compound in northern Nigeria. Every morning, she was required to wake early, wash, perform Muslim prayers and attend classes at the mosque. Then, she’d wash and pray again before returning to the “husband” forced upon her that week.Play
(Vatican News).
Trois jours après un enlèvement de 24 étudiants dans une université à Osara, dans l’État de Kogi, au centre-nord du Nigeria, la police a annoncé la libération de 15 d’entre eux dimanche dernier 12 mai. C’était après un affrontement entre les kidnappeurs et le service de sécurité que ces victimes ont été sauvées.
(Maria Lozano. Aleteia).
La rapidité d’esprit d’un directeur d’école, père Emmanuel Ogwuche, a permis de sauver la vie d’élèves pendant leur sommeil, alors que des extrémistes armés avaient pris d’assaut un lycée catholique dans l’État de Makurdi, au centre du Nigeria, le 7 mai au soir.
(Vatican News. Oluwakemi Akinleye).
Sor Anthonia M. Essien es miembro de la Congregación de las Siervas del Santo Niño Jesús en Nigeria. Es profesora de sociología de la religión y actual vicecanciller, de la Universidad de Uyo, Nigeria. A pesar de su apretado programa de docente universitario, Sor Anthonia ha respondido a la plaga de las víctimas de la trata uniéndose de todo corazón a la lucha contra la trata de seres humanos a través de programas de sensibilización y adquisición de competencias. “Me han conmovido las historias de las víctimas. No podía dormir. Tenía que hacer algo por ellos”, afirmó sor Anthonia.
(The Catholic Herald).
Suspected Fulani Islamist militants carried out on a three-day massacre in Pankshin Diocese in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, killing 29 Christians, injuring a further two, and burning down churches and houses.
The attacks took place across the villages of Kopnanle, Mandung, Bokkos Town and the Mbar district of Bokkos.
Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the Catholic charity for persecuted Christians, Father Andrew Dewan, director of communications in Pankshin Diocese, gave exclusive details about the attack.