Nigerian Catholic Archdiocese Launches Inaugural Sign Language Initiative for Churches and Mosques

Abuja, 01 August, 2025 / 4:34 PM

In response to the growing advocacy for inclusion of  people living with disability in places of worship, Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja has unveiled an initiative aimed at empowering people with hearing impairments within religious communities. 

The program, launched in Abuja, brings together Catholic Priests and Muslim clerics who will learn sign language in a bid to ensure that deaf individuals feel welcome and understood in both Churches and Mosques in the West African nation.

In an interview with ACI Africa on Thursday July 31, at the launch of the six-month training initiative, Archbishop Kaigma expressed optimism that the training which is a pioneering initiative aimed at equipping Catholic Priests, Pastors, and Muslim clerics with sign language interpretation skills, will help to foster greater inclusion of persons with hearing impairments within religious and social spaces.

“This is the first time this kind of thing is happening in Nigeria, and to think it is coming from the Archdiocese of Abuja makes us proud. It is easy to look at the thousands of people who come to Church or the Mosque on a daily basis, all looking physically fit, and we forget that some cannot hear, see, or walk.” Archbishop Kaigama stated.

The initiative is being undertaken by the Justice Development and Peace Caritas (JDPCI) of the Abuja Archdiocese in collaboration with various organizations, including the Christian Blind Mission (CBM), Disability Rights Funds, Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) Nigeria, and other development partners. It has received support from both Christian and Muslim leaders.

According to the Nigerian Catholic Archbishop, the joint effort is not only humanitarian but also a step towards fostering interfaith unity and societal harmony.

“The Muslim represented by the Sheikh here is also bringing his own clerics to join my Catholic Priests to learn. I say we should be doing something positive together, Muslims and Christians, rather than quarrelling and fighting over words and influence, let’s focus on service and the common good,” Archbishop Kaigama said.

The Catholic Archbishop underscored the importance of the initiative as part of the Church’s broader mission of inclusion and care for the marginalized. 

He said that everyone, including people living with disabilities are all children of God. “We are all made in the image and likeness of God. Nobody is completely normal. We are all deficient in one way or the other, but there are some who are more deficient than us, so we should carry them along,” he said. 

Highlighting past efforts to reach the disadvantaged, Archbishop Kaigama recounted how the Church extended help to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in camps in Abuja for nearly a decade.

“We went to them, we ministered to them. This is just another dimension of that same outreach—this time to those who want to worship but cannot hear,” he said.

In addition to training Priests in sign language, the Archdiocese plans to integrate sign language education into its schools and seminaries. 

“We are going to encourage this study of sign language in the primary and secondary schools we run, and even in the seminaries. Future Priests must learn sign language,” he said, and continued, “The must be interested in anything to do with disabled people, and they must learn how to deal with them,” Archbishop Kaigama Assures

The 67-year-old Nigerian Archbishop urged government officials to recognize and support grassroots initiatives aimed at helping the marginalized. 

“We are always begging the government to come to us and ask us what we are doing. But somehow it’s so difficult to get their attention,” he said, and added, “They are more concerned with official things and bureaucracy. Meanwhile, we are on the ground, we know the people, we see them, we feel them.”

The Catholic Church leader, who started his Episcopal Ministry in April 1995 as Bishop of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Jalingo, urged government officials to engage in meaningful dialogue and collaboration.

“Let us tell you what we see, what we know—those who are hungry, those who have no place to stay, those who are deaf or crippled. Come and let us talk, let’s share, let’s strategize,” he said.

In another interview with ACI Africa at the same event, the executive director of JDPCI, Fr. Sebastian Sani, described the effort as being rooted in the very mission of Jesus Christ.

“This program is in line with the mandate of our Lord Jesus Christ, he came to carry everybody along, and in carrying out that mandate in the Church, those with disability must be included.” Fr. Sani said.

Fr. Sani underscored the importance of communication not only in ministry but in everyday life, saying, “If people like this come into the Church and they don't know what is happening, they will definitely be left stranded. “Communication is very important in everything we do in life.” 

“Don’t forget, those with disability have a role to play in national development,” he said and continued, “If we are using this as a tool to communicate the gospel of Christ to them in a different way, we are shaping them spiritually for them to see what they can contribute to society.”

Fr. Sani emphasized the significance of the interfaith participation the program attracted. “Through the initiative of the Archbishop, we were able to bring Catholic Priests, Deacons, imams, and pastors together,” he said.

This interreligious collaboration sends a powerful message about peace, unity, and tolerance in a country often riven by religious and ethnic tensions.

“There is no need for us to fight one another, we are all united in building the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and spreading the good news with compassion, irrespective of religion, irrespective of where we are coming from,” Fr. Sani said.

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Also speaking to ACI Africa during the same event, Imam of Abuja National Mosque Sheikh Haoun Mohammed Eze, commended the inclusive initiative spearheaded by the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja. 

He praised the program's vision for embracing both persons with disabilities and fostering interfaith cooperation, stressing its potential to reshape religious communication and correct misconceptions about Islam.