(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a letter to the Bishops of Nigeria expressing his closeness to all those suffering in the country.

While acknowledging the progress the nation of 160 million has made in recent years, Pope Francis laments the “new and violent forms of extremism and fundamentalism” which are affecting the country on ethnic, social and religious grounds, which has led to murders, kidnappings, and forced many people to leave their homes.

“Every day I remember you in my prayers and I repeat here, for your encouragement and comfort, the consoling words of the Lord Jesus, which must always resound in our hearts: ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you,’” Pope Francis writes.

“Peace – as you know so well – is not only the absence of conflict or the result of political compromise or fatalistic resignation,” the Pope continues. “Peace is for us a gift which comes from on high; it is Jesus Christ himself, the Prince of Peace.”

Pope Francis reminds the Bishops that, at the same time, peace is “a daily endeavour, a courageous and authentic effort to favour reconciliation, to promote experiences of sharing, to extend bridges of dialogue, to serve the weakest and the excluded.”

“In a word, peace consists in building up a ‘culture of encounter’,” he said.

The full text of the Pope’s letter to the Bishops of Nigeria is below:

To the Bishops of Nigeria

Dear Brother Bishops,

While we walk this Lenten journey towards the Resurrection of the Lord united with the whole Church, I wish to extend to you, dear Archbishops and Bishops of Nigeria, a fraternal greeting, which I extend to the beloved Christian communities entrusted to your pastoral care. I would also like to share some thoughts with you on the current situation in your country.

Nigeria, known as the “African giant”, with its more than 160 million inhabitants, is set to play a primary role, not only in Africa but in the world at large. In recent years, it has experienced robust growth in the economic sphere and has again reasserted itself on the world stage as an attractive market, on account of its natural resources as well as its commercial potential. It is now considered officially the single largest African economy. It has also distinguished itself as a political player widely committed to the resolution of crisis situations in the continent.

At the same time, your nation has had to confront considerable problems, among them new and violent forms of extremism and fundamentalism on ethnic, social and religious grounds. Many Nigerians have been killed, wounded or mutilated, kidnapped and deprived of everything: their loved ones, their land, their means of subsistence, their dignity and their rights. Many have not been able to return to their homes. Believers, both Christian and Muslim, have experienced a common tragic outcome, at the hands of people who claim to be religious, but who instead abuse religion, to make of it an ideology for their own distorted interests of exploitation and murder.

I would like to assure you and all who suffer of my closeness. Every day I remember you in my prayers and I repeat here, for your encouragement and comfort, the consoling words of the Lord Jesus, which must always resound in our hearts: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27).

Peace – as you know so well – is not only the absence of conflict or the result of political compromise or fatalistic resignation. Peace is for us a gift which comes from on high; it is Jesus Christ himself, the Prince of Peace, who has made of two peoples one (cf. Eph 2:14). And only the man or woman who treasures the peace of Christ as a guiding light and way of life can become a peacemaker (cf. Mt 5:9).

At the same time, peace is a daily endeavour, a courageous and authentic effort to favour reconciliation, to promote experiences of sharing, to extend bridges of dialogue, to serve the weakest and the excluded. In a word, peace consists in building up a “culture of encounter”.

And so I wish here to express my heartfelt thanks to you, because in the midst of so many trials and sufferings the Church in Nigeria does not cease to witness to hospitality, mercy and forgiveness. How can we fail to remember the priests, religious men and women, missionaries and catechists who, despite untold sacrifices, never abandoned their flock, but remained at their service as good and faithful heralds of the Gospel? To them, most particularly, I would like to express my solidarity, and to say: do not grow tired of doing what is right!

We give thanks to the Lord for them, as for so many men and women of every social, cultural and religious background, who with great willingness stand up in concrete ways to every form of violence, and whose efforts are directed at favouring a more secure and just future for all. They offer us moving testimonies, which, as Pope Benedict XVI recalled at the end of the Synod for Africa, show “the power of the Spirit to transform the hearts of victims and their persecutors and thus to re-establish fraternity” (Africae Munus, 20).

Dear Brother Bishops, in perseverance and without becoming discouraged, go forward on the way of peace (cf. Lk 1:79). Accompany the victims! Come to the aid of the poor! Teach the youth! Become promoters of a more just and fraternal society!

I gladly impart to you my Apostolic Blessing, which I ask you to extend to priests, religious, missionaries, catechists, lay faithful and above all to those suffering members of the Body of Christ.

May the Resurrection of the Lord bring conversion, reconciliation and peace to all the people of Nigeria! I commend you to Mary, Queen of Africa, and I ask you also to pray for me.

FRANCISCUS PP.

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/03/17/pope_francis_sends_letter_to_the_bishops_of_nigeria/1129957

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I'm not a Catholic but I really love the Pope. He's so humble & truly a Christian

Queen of peace pray for us!!

alright

Pope Francis aii? Issiorait....... A̶̲̥̅♏ a stunch catholic (a traditional one though). So I don't really buy his views most times. Vatican 11 council could be my reason, but wher ever d peace comes from... Its quite welcome

Pope, please help us to tell them to stop collecting bribes and envelopes from the politicians.

I love pope francis and his views not a traditional catholic pope, he is moving with the tides and evolving with the present time...He is a good man

The Devil has sent a letter to the Bishops of Nigeria

So this meaningless BS is enough to pacify Nigerian Catholics despite all the atrocities going on around you guys. Are you going to wait for PEACE or are you going to rise up and cause Mayhem for those whom has destroyed your future and now destroying the future of your children ?

Africans should be ashamed, how many times has the Pope shown his displeasure against the international Bankers, the whole world knows how unjust the US imperialists wars of the last two decades are but how many times has the Vatican condemned it ?

How many times has the Pope condemned your corrupt leaders ?

I am just ashamed to be a black man.

Tolexander:
Pope, please help us to tell them to stop collecting bribes and envelopes from the politicians.

Even if the pope does tell them this, they will still go ahead and collect the envelopes!.

Horus:
The Devil has sent a letter to the Bishops of Nigeria

nigeria must have many devil then. May be nigeria is hellfire

thoth:
So this meaningless BS is enough to pacify Nigerian Catholics despite all the atrocities going on around you guys. Are you going to wait for PEACE or are you going to rise up and cause Mayhem for those whom has destroyed your future and now destroying the future of your children ?

Africans should be ashamed, how many times has the Pope shown his displeasure against the international Bankers, the whole world knows how unjust the US imperialists wars of the last two decades are but how many times has the Vatican condemned it ?

How many times has the Pope condemned your corrupt leaders ?

I am just ashamed to be a black man.

You should probably be ashamed of yourself methinks. Because you are speaking out of ignorance yet with so much confidence. Have you read Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Caritas in Veritate or Pope Francis' Evangelii Gaudium?

Papist:

You should probably be ashamed of yourself methinks. Because you are speaking out of ignorance yet with so much confidence. Have you read Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Caritas in Veritate or Pope Francis' Evangelii Gaudium?

Yes i had, infact my wife first read it and in anger directed me to read it as well.…since we were talking about Francis here let's take Pope Francis' Evangelii Gaudium as a test case,( Chapters 2 and 4 precisely)

How would the Vatican Bank score if judge on those same proclamations ?

what concrete efforts has the Vatican done to fight against such evils ?

I fought in three continents, non was my country, I am used to propaganda, written words which differs from the truth and actions of the ENEMY which only serves to deceive or disrupt the people's counter actions. Only fools follow the same expired tactics over and over.
All those publications are deceptive, destructive ,unrealistic and just CHEAP PROPAGANDA at best.
show me a popular struggle that the Catholic church has assisted,given a voice or taken the Vanguard on .
Pope living in her Mansion and telling poor people to be obedient ,submissive, don't retaliate or stand for your rights, wait for God, he is coming tomorrow.
please just answer any of those questions please.

Some of the first Popes were once slaves traders. In 1452 Pope Nicholas V issued the papal bull Dum Diversas, which granted Afonso V of Portugal the right to reduce any "Saracens, pagans and any other unbelievers" to hereditary slavery. The approval of slavery under these conditions was reaffirmed and extended in his Romanus Pontifex bull of 1455. In 1488 Pope Innocent VIII accepted the gift of 100 slaves from Ferdinand II of Aragon and distributed those slaves to his cardinals and the Roman nobility. Also, in 1639 Pope Urban VIII purchased slaves for himself from the Knights of Malta

thoth:

Yes i had, infact my wife first read it and in anger directed me to read it as well.…since we were talking about Francis here let's take Pope Francis' Evangelii Gaudium as a test case,( Chapters 2 and 4 precisely)

How would the Vatican Bank score if judge on those same proclamations ?

what concrete efforts has the Vatican done to fight against such evils ?

I fought in three continents, non was my country, I am used to propaganda, written words which differs from the truth and actions of the ENEMY which only serves to deceive or disrupt the people's counter actions. Only fools follow the same expired tactics over and over.
All those publications are deceptive, destructive ,unrealistic and just CHEAP PROPAGANDA at best.
show me a popular struggle that the Catholic church has assisted,given a voice or taken the Vanguard on .
Pope living in her Mansion and telling poor people to be obedient ,submissive, don't retaliate or stand for your rights, wait for God, he is coming tomorrow.
please just answer any of those questions please.

Tell me which organisation has more schools, hospitals, leper shelters, children's homes and aid agencies than the Catholic Church? Do you want them to close the St Peters and other ancient basilicas to be satisfied? The Apostolic Palace does not belong to the Pope and have you seen the property in his living room? It is a very humble room I tell you. Of course the whole building's majesty will make this a moot point to some. It is Church property. By the way I'm glad you read Evangelii Gaudium unlike others who criticise out of total ignorance.

Horus:
Some of the first Popes were once slaves traders. In 1452 Pope Nicholas V issued the papal bull Dum Diversas, which granted Afonso V of Portugal the right to reduce any "Saracens, pagans and any other unbelievers" to hereditary slavery. The approval of slavery under these conditions was reaffirmed and extended in his Romanus Pontifex bull of 1455. In 1488 Pope Innocent VIII accepted the gift of 100 slaves from Ferdinand II of Aragon and distributed those slaves to his cardinals and the Roman nobility. Also, in 1639 Pope Urban VIII purchased slaves for himself from the Knights of Malta

Horus have you read Dum Diversas yourself or you just scrounged a little information from slanderers on the internet? Do you understand that Dum Diversas was issued during the time when the Saracens(Muslims) were rampaging through Constantinople and Spain much like what ISIS is doing now? Would you argue against the imprisonment of ISIS members today. The pagans mentioned in Dum Diversas are West African mercenaries fighting on the side of the Saracens. Thats my understanding anyway.

Papist:

Tell me which organisation has more schools, hospitals, leper shelters, children's homes and aid agencies than the Catholic Church? Do you want them to close the St Peters and other ancient basilicas to be satisfied? The Apostolic Palace does not belong to the Pope and have you seen the property in his living room? It is a very humble room I tell you. Of course the whole building's majesty will make this a moot point to some. It is Church property. By the way I'm glad you read Evangelii Gaudium unlike others who criticise out of total ignorance.

I only asked just a couple of simple straightforward questions, i don't know how hard answering that would be.
All points you made above are irrelevant to our situation and those not solve the crucial problems plaguing Nigeria nor has it assisted in any way, However if efforts are made to carefully analyze those points you raised i am very sure that they form a significant portion of our problems.

Nice of him to remember Nigeria.

VcStunner:
Pope Francis aii? Issiorait....... A̶̲̥̅♏ a stunch catholic (a traditional one though). So I don't really buy his views most times. Vatican 11 council could be my reason, but wher ever d peace comes from... Its quite welcome

so you don't share the view that there should be peace in Nigeria and that bishop should be true peace maker?


Since you claim to be a "traditional catholic", i think i should ask you, have you ever attended the beautiful tradentine mass? I have, severally and i Know the eucharistic prayer there prays for peace, if you do not share these sentiments then i doubt you are a catholic at all.

thoth:

I only asked just a couple of simple straightforward questions, i don't know how hard answering that would be.
All points you made above are irrelevant to our situation and those not solve the crucial problems plaguing Nigeria nor has it assisted in any way, However if efforts are made to carefully analyze those points you raised i am very sure that they form a significant portion of our problems.

For starters I'm not from Nigeria though i love Nigeria deeply as a fellow African. Having said that, my point was just to counter your allegation that the Catholic Church does nothing significant in poverty alleviation and social justice.

Tolexander:
Pope, please help us to tell them to stop collecting bribes and envelopes from the politicians.

do you have evidence of catholic bishops taking bribes from politicians?

Ubenedictus:


so you don't share the view that there should be peace in Nigeria and that bishop should be true peace maker?


Since you claim to be a "traditional catholic", i think i should ask you, have you ever attended the beautiful tradentine mass? I have, severally and i Know the eucharistic prayer there prays for peace, if you do not share these sentiments then i doubt you are a catholic at all.

Wow. I'm from Zimbabwe and we have only one chapel in Avondale offering the Traditional Latin Mass. And they are SSPX.

johnydon22:
I love pope francis and his views not a traditional catholic pope, he is moving with the tides and evolving with the present time...He is a good man

Francis is as much a traditional pope as any other. He is a bit lose with words but he is as much a traditional pope as his predecesors.

Papist:

For starters I'm not from Nigeria though i love Nigeria deeply as a fellow African. Having said that, my point was just to counter your allegation that the Catholic Church does nothing significant in poverty alleviation and social justice.

Tell us your country and what the Catholic church has done on the points i raised ?

thoth:
So this meaningless BS is enough to pacify Nigerian Catholics despite all the atrocities going on around you guys. Are you going to wait for PEACE or are you going to rise up and cause Mayhem for those whom has destroyed your future and now destroying the future of your children ?

do you somehow prefer mayhem to peace?

Africans should be ashamed, how many times has the Pope shown his displeasure against the international Bankers, the whole world knows how unjust the US imperialists wars of the last two decades are but how many times has the Vatican condemned it ?

i seems you don't follow the news!

Pope johnpaul was among the earliest voices to condemn the u.s iraq wars even before they began, benedict continued to request that diplomacy in the isreali hamas confrontation, actually fracis was instrumental in ensuring there wasn't a u.s syria was, so if you ask me the papacy has been codemning wars for the last 20yrs even the nigerian-biafran wars didn't escape its eyes.

As for international bankers, read up caritatis in veritate and francis's exhortation as papist said.

How many times has the Pope condemned your corrupt leaders ?

I am just ashamed to be a black man.

so you want him to go about condemning each political officer? Sorry the church isn't in the business of condemnation especially when politics is involved.

thoth:

Yes i had, infact my wife first read it and in anger directed me to read it as well.…since we were talking about Francis here let's take Pope Francis' Evangelii Gaudium as a test case,( Chapters 2 and 4 precisely)

How would the Vatican Bank score if judge on those same proclamations ?

yeah the vatican bank, many bad transactions have been accredited to it making popes concerned, that is why the bank has been a constant point for about 4 papacy. The vatican banks and account have been cleaned up, if you follow the news you will know that the bank was recently reformed and all accounts checked in accordance with global financial best practices, i believe the vatican bank will be about 90% clean if u wanted to judge it.

what concrete efforts has the Vatican done to fight against such evils ?

I fought in three continents, non was my country, I am used to propaganda, written words which differs from the truth and actions of the ENEMY which only serves to deceive or disrupt the people's counter actions. Only fools follow the same expired tactics over and over.
All those publications are deceptive, destructive ,unrealistic and just CHEAP PROPAGANDA at best.
show me a popular struggle that the Catholic church has assisted,given a voice or taken the Vanguard on.

oh! You want the vatican on some political struggle and movement. The vatican is a religious institution, have you seen the buddist or hindu monk support political movements? The vatican has done more than most religious institution in promoting peace.

Pope living in her Mansion and telling poor people to be obedient ,submissive, don't retaliate or stand for your rights, wait for God, he is coming tomorrow.
please just answer any of those questions please.

so you prefer he tell people to go out and kill everybody they don't like, or as you say cause mayhem.

Papist:

Wow. I'm from Zimbabwe and we have only one chapel in Avondale offering the Traditional Latin Mass. And they are SSPX.

wow! Really?

There is a FSsp chapel in Orlu Nigeria, there are usually a few masses in Lagos. The SspX are also around, there are about 3 chapels in and around enugu, there is a mass centre for sspx in abuja, asaba, in even togo and ghana. I advise people i know to stay away from the Sspx, some of their priests are good preachers and u wouldn't know they are in schism.

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Papist:

Horus have you read Dum Diversas yourself or you just scrounged a little information from slanderers on the internet? Do you understand that Dum Diversas was issued during the time when the Saracens(Muslims) were rampaging through Constantinople and Spain much like what ISIS is doing now? Would you argue against the imprisonment of ISIS members today. The pagans mentioned in Dum Diversas are West African mercenaries fighting on the side of the Saracens. Thats my understanding anyway.

Your are just trying to justify slavery and you disregard the fact that some of the first Popes were once slaves traders. Are you aware that 12 millions Africans slaves deported to the Americas had no connection with the Saracens or ISIS members today?