On April 14, 2014, 276 girls were abducted from a boarding school in Nigeria by Boko Haram militants.

The bishops condemned the "bloody violence" used by government security forces to suppress marches by mostly Catholic protesters on Dec. 31 and Jan. 21

Bishop Okpaleke's appointment had been met by protests and petitions calling for the appointment of a bishop from among the local clergy.

The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference welcomed the resignation as “long overdue.”

"I think they have chosen Somalia because there is no central authority," Bishop Giorgio Bertin said.

The president’s apparent lack of knowledge about the U.S. immigration system and the complexities of Africa is especially concerning to anti-poverty volunteers.