August 20, 2020
Catholics in Nigeria are embarking on a spiritual
journey of forty (40) days prayers from Saturday, 22nd August and
ending on 30th September 2020 to ask God to save Nigeria from
incessant killings and corruption.
The call for the spiritual journey was contained
in a Press Release by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria on 8 August
20, 2020. The President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria,
Archbishop Augustine Akubueze, who signed the Press Release, gave the directives for
the prayer as follows: “To all Catholics, we request that you join in
praying, one Our Father, three Hail Marys, and one Glory Be to the
Father every day after the Angelus for forty days, starting from 22 August 2020
and ending 30 September 2020, the eve of Nigeria's Independence Day. On
Independence Day, let us join in praying the five decades of the sorrowful
mysteries starting from 12 noon. We appeal to each Bishop to encourage the
faithful in his Diocese to participate fully in this prayer for God to save
Nigeria.”
On several occasions and through
many avenues, the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria have charged the government of Nigeria
to step up the fight against insurgency and corruption. These calls, however,
have seemed to hit deaf ears as the killing of Nigerians by terrorists and
bandits have continued unabated, and as Nigeria has continued to swim in
corruption.
In the Press Release of 8 August,
the Bishops expressed their worry over the incessant killing of the citizens of
Southern Kaduna in Kaduna State, Northern Nigeria, by bandits, and the failure of
the government in defending the lives of the people. “Our hearts are bleeding,
and we are more troubled when we hear of the massacre presently going on in
Southern Kaduna. We want all the people suffering the incessant attacks in
Southern Kaduna to know that all Catholics in Nigeria are praying for them. We
call on the Federal and the Government of Kaduna to bring a complete stop to
the killing of innocent people. The loss of the life of any Nigerian does
not help to further the agenda of any religious ideology or the ambition of any
politician. The perpetrators of the killings must be brought to justice.” they
said.
“We do not want any politician to
politicize the killing of Nigerians. There should be one response from
everyone, and that is; the killings must stop.” The bishops challenged the
government.
Recall that in a similar call contained in a Press
Release by the Bishops of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province after their Second
Plenary Meeting on 5th August, the Bishops had urged Nigerians rise up
in prayer to God, in vigilance and in legitimate self-defense. They reminded
Nigerians that the right to life, to their homes and to their lands is
God-given.
Nigerians in diaspora are expected to join
their brothers and sisters at home to make this prayerful journey for the good
of their fatherland.
Fresh Dew Media
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