The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, has underscored the importance of love in human interactions, saying no true religion could thrive without the virtue.
The Archbishop said this on Sunday during his homily at St. Loius Pastoral Area, EFAB Global Estate in Mbora, Abuja.
TheFact Nigeria noted that His Grace described the gruesome murder of Miss Deborah Samuel, a 200-level student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, as a “dastardly act”.
According to him, love remained the antidote to violence, wickedness and other forms of ills besetting contemporary society.
Archbishop Kaigama maintained that Christianity, Islam, and Traditional religion preach love, and that violence must not be allowed to thrive, under whatever guise.
“There can be no true religion without love and there can be no genuinely religious person without the practice of true love. We, who call ourselves religious, must wear the “garment of love”, the Local Ordinary said.
According to him: “In a world of violence and tension, love is the cure. In a world of sin and vice, love remains the cure. In our world of immorality and wickedness, only love is the cure. In our world of un-forgiveness and bitterness, love and only love is the remedy.”
While inviting believers to reflect on the Gospel of St. John (Jn. 13: 31-33, 34-35), where John states that, ‘by this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples’, Kaigama disclosed that even “The early Church understood this commandment and lived according to it”.
On Deborah’s killing, the cleric observed that many Christians and Muslims have continued to condemn the despicable act.
He, however, expressed optimism that, with sustained inter-faith and inter-religious dialogues, love and peaceful coexistence will triumph.
He recalled that fateful Thursday, 12th May, when Deborah was murdered, “the Muslim World League (MWL) convened a ground-breaking conference to build bridges among followers of Religions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the support of the Vatican, leaders of evangelical churches, internationally renowned rabbis, and other prominent leaders”.
The ‘Shepherd’ of the Archdiocese of Abuja concluded by charging that, “in this month of Mary our Blessed Mother, let us humbly ask her to continue to teach us to love one another without prejudices or pre-conditions”.
