Why are people not thinking of hell anymore as they did in the past? Lent is the season when the Church insists that we look steadily at the truth: the truth about our fragility, sin, death, eternity, and God. Lent does not invite us into morbid fear; it invites us into conversion. It calls us back from a life lived…
An experience can have the epistemic power of disruption, allowing for a new way of seeing what has become familiar in our lives. This reflection offers some insights into an experience that has initiated a new way of seeing Lent, one that I invite you to explore with me. On the second Sunday of Lent, 2026, I had the pleasure…
I went to the hospital not as a researcher or policy analyst, but as a priest responding to a pastoral call. A parishioner had been admitted, and my intention was simply to offer prayers and presence. What I encountered was not only illness, but quiet abandonment. The corridor was heavy with heat. Electricity failed intermittently. A nurse apologized repeatedly for…
The Foreign Minister of Ghana, Samuel Ablakwa, on a recent visit to Kiev, Ukraine, asked his Ukrainian counterpart to help secure the release of two Ghanaians held as prisoners of war. According to a report by the BBC, of the 272 Ghanaians said to be fighting in the war, more than 55 young men have been killed. Another investigation by…
It was an ordinary Sunday for many on February 22. However, for the residents of Edikwu G’Icho, Ole-G’ijamu, and Ukpogo in the Apa Local Government Area of Benue State, it was anything but. The residents started their day as usual, unaware that it would be their final day on earth. Unannounced, herders invaded and ransacked their villages, resulting in the…
President Trump is dragging the U.S. into an unnecessary war without any national conversation or the approval of Congress. This military operation is both ill-advised and wrong-headed. President Trump is going into it alone without the consent of any of America’s allies in the Middle East, the G20, NATO, or elsewhere, except Israel. Iran was already negotiating in good faith,…
After last week’s Ash Wednesday Mass, someone asked me whether I believe in the existence of hell—and whether hell is really the abode of the devil. I replied, “yes,” but I could not explain it further because many others were still lining up to greet me or receive ashes. The liturgy had been moving, almost searching. The sign of the…
With deep joy, VoiceAfrique welcomes Pope Leo’s proposed historic Apostolic Visit to Africa (April 13–23). It promises to be one of the longest journeys of his pontificate and among the most significant papal pilgrimages to the continent in modern history. From Algeria—walking in the footsteps of Saint Augustine in Algiers and Annaba—to Cameroon (Yaoundé, Bamenda, Douala), Angola (Luanda, Muxima, Saurimo),…
As Christians across the globe enter the sacred season of Lent, Pope Leo XIV has issued a compelling message urging the faithful to rediscover the transformative power of listening, fasting, and communal conversion. His reflection, titled “Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion”, frames Lent not merely as a ritual obligation but as a spiritual reset—an invitation to…
Some years ago, during a heated conversation in a village square, I noticed how confidently people defended positions built on rumours and fear. Voices were loud. Certainty was strong. An elderly catechist who had listened quietly shook his head and muttered, “They are arguing overshadows.” No one paid attention to him, but I did. I still do. Plato’s Allegory of…