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Pope Francis on Sunday encouraged Christians to fear sin, not the hostility, violence, or persecution they may face when sharing the Gospel with the world.
“The underlying point of all these attacks is to drive away any Western ideology, Western form of living, and institute the caliphate,” Fr. Jospeph Bature said.
The Nigerian priest who had been kidnapped by gunmen Nigeria’s Edo State towards the end of last week, Fr. Nicolas Oboh, has been freed, a message from his diocese of Uromi has confirmed.
Fr. Nicholas Oboh of the Diocese of Uromi has been abducted by gunmen in the state of Edo in the southwest region of the country.
The President of the international Catholic pastoral charitable organization, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Thomas Heine-Beldern, has described the just ended year, 2019, as a year with a significantly high record of attacks targeting Christians across the globe, including Africa where Christians have been murdered in West Africa.
Pope Francis and the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres recorded a video message together at the Vatican Friday in which the two leaders urge the importance of religious freedom, human dignity, and environmental protection.
Pope Francis urged interreligious dialogue in Burkina Faso Wednesday as ongoing violence by jihadist groups has killed more than 750 people in the West African country this year.