Posted by Press release on 22/6/2012, 11:22 am
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ACN News: Friday, 22nd June 2012 – NIGERIA Do not retaliate • Bishops call on faithful to remain calm • Muslims asked to help infiltrate terrorist networks • Government accused of “weak” response to violence By John Pontifex FRIGHTENED and angry Christians in Nigeria should resist growing calls to retaliate against extremists bombing their churches – according to senior Catholic bishops. Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Archbishop John Onaiyekan of the capital, Abuja, and Bishop Martin Igwe Uzoukwu of nearby Minna, hit out at the government, calling for tougher action to stop the violence. Archbishop Onaiyekan went further, saying that the government should ask Muslims to help “infiltrate” terrorist groups. The bishops’ comments came after government security chiefs this week warned of another wave of suicide bombings, following on from Sunday’s (17th June) explosions at three churches in Kaduna state, which left more than 30 people dead. The attack at Shalom Pentecostal Church in Kaduna city – on the tense dividing line between the north and south – prompted retaliation from Christians in violence where 11 Muslims died and two mosques were reportedly targeted, one burnt to the ground. (Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja © ACN) Commenting on the reprisals during the ACN interview, Archbishop John Onaiyekan spoke about the Christian community’s growing impatience with the violence, saying: “It is becoming increasingly difficult to preach peace and to call for calm. It is becoming easier to beat the drums of war. “More and more people are saying that unless we fight back they will continue to attack us. “But this is a very worrying attitude and not a practical solution to the problem. The Muslims who were killed in Kaduna were from a Muslim enclave and they were innocent.” Both he and Bishop Igwe quoted Gospel passages showing Christ’s opposition to violence. Bishop Igwe said: “I am telling my people to keep calm. Two wrongs do not make a right.” The bishops’ comments follow Pope Benedict XVI’s general audience in Rome on Wednesday, 20th June in which he said: “It is my hope that the various components in Nigerian society will collaborate so as not to start down the path of revenge.” Archbishop Onaiyekan said the security problems centred on a lack of intelligence about the terrorists groups and added that he had called on Muslim communities to help infiltrate their structures and root out their leaders. He went on: “What is missing is adequate intelligence to infiltrate these groups and thereby identify the real leaders who must be eliminated so that the system of violence collapses. “Our government needs to go to the Muslim groups who can engage with those responsible.” He also said: “Yes, it is true that the Muslim community would not call these terrorists Muslims but, in as much as the terrorists say they are acting in the name of Islam, Muslims have a responsibility to reach out to them. “It would be an abdication of responsibility if the whole Muslim community were to fail to act since they all belong to the House of Islam.” (Bishop Martin Igwe Uzoukwu of Minna © ACN) Condemning the government’s record in tackling the violence, Archbishop Onaiyekan said: “The government is weak and cannot tackle the problem in a serious way. What we have before us is a weak government which cannot protect its people.” He added: “We have to give the government their due for what they are doing but this is not enough. “The government is not doing enough in terms of education, security and tackling corruption. If we had a better government, these problems would not happen.” Bishop Igwe called on Christians worldwide to lobby their governments to put pressure on President Jonathan’s administration to stop the violence. He said: “Christians not just in Nigeria but elsewhere should not keep quiet. Silence would suggest they condone the violence. If they want to make it clear they do not condone it, they should speak up.” In an implicit criticism of the government’s handling of the crisis, Bishop Igwe said: “If we have to die for Christ, we will die for Christ, but why should we be forced to make the choice?” Both bishops said that in most cases the violence had strengthened the Christian community’s faith. Archbishop Onaiyekan said: “Many people who were not going to church before are now coming. There is a lot of prayer and there is a lot of hard thinking going on.” Bishop Igwe said: “It is said that if these attacks continue, especially in the north, Christians will leave and go elsewhere in the country but Nigeria is for all of us. “The Christians should stay where they are. What they need is adequate protection.” Editor’s Notes Directly under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity – helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action. The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, Aid to the Church in Need’s Child’s Bible – God Speaks to his Children has been translated into 162 languages and 48 million copies have been distributed all over the world. While ACN gives full permission for the media to freely make use of the charity’s press releases, please acknowledge ACN as the source of stories when using the material. For more information or to make a donation to help the work of Aid to the Church in Need, please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. On Line donations can be made at www.aidtochurch.org