Vatican
City, 17 March, 2015 (VIS) - Pope Francis has written a letter to the
Bishops of Nigeria ensuring them of his nearness to all those in that
country. Although Nigeria has one of the strongest economies in all
of Africa, it is facing new and violent forms of extremism and
fundamentalism that tragically affect the society as a whole. The
letter, published today, is dated 2 March, 2015. Following is the
full text of the letter:
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''.
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'' .
Dear
Brother Bishops, in perseverance and without becoming discouraged, go
forward on the way of peace . 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.
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