ROME — The United States Catholic bishops have reached out in “solidarity” to the church in Nigeria, condemning the recent lethal attacks on Christians.
A statement Wednesday on the website of the Bishops’ conference (USCCB) references the Pentecost Sunday presumed jihadist attack on the faithful gathered at St. Francis Xavier Church in the city of Owo, in which gunmen threw explosive devices and opened fire on the congregation, killing at least 50 people.
On behalf of the bishops, Rockford Bishop David J. Malloy, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace, reaffirmed his solidarity with the Church in Nigeria “amidst the unabated violence besetting Nigerians and the Church particularly.”
Bishop Malloy also urged that the perpetrators of recent violence targeting Christians be brought to “swift justice.”
“Nigeria has sadly become all too familiar with such growing violence,” the bishop declared. “In addition to the horrible loss of life, this attack is a disturbing development as it occurred in the far south of Nigeria where such bloodshed heretofore has been largely unknown.”
Malloy also noted that just three weeks earlier, “a young Christian student was accused by fellow students of blasphemy and brutally murdered,” and when police arrested two suspects in the lynching, “riots broke out directed at several Church buildings.”
The bishop went on to reiterate the U.S. bishops’ ongoing support for the Church in Nigeria, especially in the face of terrorist attacks by Boko Haram and armed groups, “to build peace between herders and farmers, and to ensure credible and transparent elections.”
“We join our Holy Father, Pope Francis in commending the souls of the dead to the loving mercy of God and imploring ‘divine healing and consolation’ upon those who are grieving,” he said, while pledging continued support for “our brothers and sisters of the Church in Nigeria.”
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