Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Revd. Ignatius Kaigama has said Nigerians need to heal from injuries inflicted by politics and current harsh economic realities.
Archbishop Kaigama stated this on Tuesday during his Homily to celebrate 2025 Chrism mass at our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro Cathedral in Abuja.
He added that the reoccurring violence and killings across the country is a sign that the nation truly needs healing.
” Not only are priests in need of healing, but our citizens and our nation need it too. Our nation needs healing from the festering wounds inflicted by politics, and harsh economic realities that do not only result in crimes and violence but subsequently, to unsound minds of our dear young people.
“We continue to witness criminality that robs people of their lives which should be sacred. The brutal killings in Ondo, Uromi, Bokkos, and Borno; the several killings in Southern Kaduna including the cruel murder of a priest of Kafanchan diocese; the killings of some 16 soldiers recently, and many untold killings show a wounded and bleeding nation in need of healing.
“One can only imagine how many families are left devastated, traumatized, and broken severely. By now, one would think that with the combination of modern technology and non-kinetic methods, criminality would have been greatly reduced in Nigeria. The recurring violence in different parts of the nation is a sign of a nation in need of healing. How criminals known as “unknown gunmen,” kidnappers, terrorists, militant herdsmen, etc., are nearly never always apprehended and decisively dealt with is puzzling.
They appear, kill, burn houses, and farms, injure people, and disappear, and only later to stage a comeback inflicting more damage than previously, costing innumerable loss of human lives. It appears that we have yet to get the right technology to hunt these criminals down, or is it the absence of goodwill or political will?We are not only spiritually sick but also economically, politically, and socially. We need individual and collective healing,” he said.
The Most Revd.added that,”What makes God weep for Nigeria? Corruption, banditry, terrorism, bloodshed, etc. Despite the strong presence and the external practice of Christianity and Islam, many, reject the truth of God’s word and choose to conceal it and not bear witness to it; we put people who speak the truth down; we refuse to be instruments of God’s love and mercy to others; we choose to live in sin rather than God’s grace and mercy. We place others on the cross by our hatred and rejection of them,”.
The Archbishop urged Priests across the nation to continue to be instruments of healing, reconciliation, and hope in a world that often feel broken.
“We must not give up on the mission Christ has handed on to us by virtue of our anointing. Ask God, daily, for the grace to be faithful. God calls us to be faithful, not necessarily to be successful; when we are faithful, He will do the rest. Let us recommit ourselves to the service of God’s people. Let us embrace with joy and gratitude the mission entrusted to us”.
“We know for sure that this mission is not easy. We face trials, moments of weariness, human weakness, discouragement, brokenness, and sometimes even isolation. We as healers need to be healed too.
“To the lay faithful here present, I entreat you to continue praying for us your priests working in such a society as ours. Support us with your friendship, with your understanding, and above all, with your prayers. Just as we are anointed to serve you, your faith and witness nourish and sustain us. We must walk this journey of faith together; that is what Synodality is all about,” he said.
