Kanyi Okeke
The explosion of violence in northern cities like Damaturu, Kaduna has caught the attention of the Vatican. In his weekly address, Pope Benedict XVI asked those responsible for
the multiple bombings of churches in the north of the country to “stop
immediately.”
A radical Islamist sect has claimed responsibility for suicide
attacks on two churches Sunday that left at least 21 people dead. The
killings led to reprisal attacks, highlighting festering religious
tensions in Nigeria. The sect killed at least 25 more in attacks
Tuesday.
Pope Benedict XVI appealed “to those responsible for the violence so
that the spilling of blood of so many innocent (people) stop
immediately,” and urged Nigerian society to find a way to avoid “the
path of vendetta.”
In his audience Wednesday, the pope called on Nigerians to build a
society where “the right to profess one’s own faith is fully protected.”
Nigeria has a large percent of Catholic faithfuls, with about 39 million people counted as being part of the Catholic church.
Source: The Washington Post
