Abuja, 13 February, 2024 / 9:33 pm (ACI Africa).
The government of the West African nation of Nigeria needs to act with speed and in a structured and strategic way to address “worsening economic hardships” of the people God in the country, the Archbishop of Abuja has said.
In his homily during his pastoral visit to St. Donatus’ Pastoral Area, Sokale, in his Metropolitan See, Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama said, “There has been a consistent rise in prices of foodstuffs and other commodities and the worsening economic hardships have resulted in pockets of protests in some states in the country and have also increased criminality.”
“The political authorities must do something positive and promptly too, and in a well-coordinated manner nationally to reduce anger and hunger in the country,” Archbishop Kaigama appealed in his February 11 homily.
Referring to the First and Gospel Readings of the Day that illustrated the the stigma around lepers, the Nigerian Catholic Archbishop said, “In our society today, ethnic, political, and religious superiority complexes make many look at others as lepers.”
“We all are called to be imitators of Christ, to care for those who are sick among us, whether of HIV or other degenerative diseases or those handicapped,” he said, and added, “We should not be too afraid as we were during the Coronavirus Pandemic, how we would not visit, shake hands, or share a meal with others for fear of getting infected.”
