The bishops of Nigeria blame government inaction for the death of more than 2,000 people during a recent uprising by an extremist Islamic group. “We have no democracy worth the name if government cannot protect life and property of the citizen,” the bishops said in a statement. The uprising began in late July after the arrest of some members of the Boko Haram sect, which opposes Western education and insists on the imposition of Shariah, or Islamic law. In their statement the bishops also criticized the “culture of violence that prevails in Nigeria” and condemned the Islamic group for using religion to justify its actions: “We wish to note that those who claim that they love God while hating their fellow human beings, even to the extent of killing them, are liars.”
Nigerian Bishops Fault Government
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
A portion of a new interview with Pope Francis will air tonight on the “CBS Evening News” at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, according to a release from the CBS News Communications office.
A Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, by Father Terrance Klein
The reflections of Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., convinced me that Pope Francis' reframing of the scope and meaning of synods will have staying power, because it opens up a new model for the church.
During his general audience, Pope Francis reminded his listeners of the importance of the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. Engaging the crowd by having them recite the virtues aloud, Francis said that theological virtues animate our everyday actions toward the good.