Abuja, 09 November, 2025 / 11:49 pm (ACI Africa).
The Secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, has described the suffering and persecution of Christians in Nigeria as “painful” and urged authorities to focus on ending the persistent killings rather than debating the designation of the West African nation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
Speaking to ACI Africa on the sidelines of his conferment with an honorary doctorate degree by Veritas University Abuj, Archbishop Nwachukwu said insecurity has become “unbearable” for many Nigerians across the country.
“It is a painful thing to see my people being killed by bandits and insurgents. Of course, I am Nigerian. I cannot take myself away from this reality. The suffering of my people is also my suffering; the pains of our people in Nigeria are my pains,” he said during the November 8 interview.
Reflecting on the ongoing debate about Nigeria’s designation as a CPC over religious persecution, Archbishop Nwachukwu, who previously served as the Holy Father’s representative in Nicaragua, said discussions about classification are meaningless if the killings continue.
“It is shameful. We should all be ashamed; I mean, Nigerians should be ashamed that we have come to the level of this type of classification being given to us. Instead of wasting time on whether we should be classified or not, we should focus that energy on stopping the killings,” he said.
