The accusation is stark: the spectre of genocide against Christians. This inflammatory claim, initially levelled by the United States government against Nigeria, has ricocheted across international media, amplified by figures like U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. The concern is not new; it dates back at least to President Donald Trump’s 2018 White House meeting with then-President Muhammadu Buhari, where Trump reportedly…
One of the earliest disappointments I experienced as a newly ordained priest was that the first three sick people I anointed never recovered. They all died. I was then serving in a rural community in Eastern Nigeria where many had no access to good healthcare. The visit of a priest was not only for spiritual healing but also, in faith,…
The recent reflections of Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah in Rome and Bishop Wilfred Anagbe’s powerful testimony before the U.S. Congress in Washington have reopened one of the most urgent moral questions of our time: Are Nigerian Christians persecuted? Their differing tones—Bishop Anagbe’s cry from the valley of suffering and Bishop Kukah’s call for nuance and hope, reflect the two sides…
The Nigerian Christian community has been shaken by a recent address given in Rome by Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah during the launch of Aid to the Church in Need’s 2025 Religious Freedom in the World Report. In his remarks, the Bishop of Sokoto acknowledged the widespread violence and insecurity ravaging Nigeria but questioned whether Christians in the country are being…
A Voice Afrique Interview with Rev. Fr. Lawrence C. Emehel, Director, Department of Mission and Dialogue, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria Rev. Fr. Lawrence Chukwunweike Emehel is a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, in northwestern Nigeria — a region known for its rich Islamic heritage and complex interreligious dynamics. Nearly a year into his tenure as Director of the…
In a world marked by conflict and humanitarian fatigue, the story of one priest from Sierra Leone reminds us that faith can still rebuild nations, one wounded heart at a time. From the Ashes of War In a world where humanitarian crises multiply and faith often retreats before violence, the story of Fr. Peter Konteh, a Sierra Leonean priest, offers…
VATICAN CITY, Oct. 22 – Across the globe today, Catholics mark the feast of St. John Paul II, celebrating a pontiff whose three simple words—”Be not afraid”—became a revolutionary cry that helped reshape the 20th century’s political and spiritual landscape. The Polish-born pope, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005, emerges in historical memory as a figure of…
Pope Leo XIV’s first Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You”), was issued at a decisive hour for Africa and for the world. It comes as our continent stands at once wounded and hopeful — home to one of the fastest-growing Christian populations on earth, yet still carrying the heaviest burdens of poverty, hunger, human trafficking, and displacement, amidst…
A Reflection on Pope Leo XIV’s Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You”) Under the scorching Sahelian sun, a mother carries her infant across the sand, fleeing violence that has ravaged her village. She is not just a refugee; she is, in the words of Dilexi Te, “the very flesh of Christ” (DT 3). Throughout Africa, displaced women and…
The story of Paul, a 30-year-old former Catholic, reveals what Gen Z thinks of Christianity in Africa today. For him, the Church no longer speaks to his pain. “Going to church is for fools,” he said. “The Church exploits the poor while clergy dine with corrupt politicians.” When reminded of Church schools and hospitals as agents of charity, he replied,…