Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
Pope Francis has reached out with love and prayers to families in about 21 villages, largely Christian, who lost their loved ones following the dastardly attack and killings of over 200 persons on the eve of Christmas by suspected terrorists.
A statement by the Padre Michael Nsikak Umoh, from the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) said the Pope prayed that God may free Nigeria from the atrocities.
“The Pope’s condolence and prayers came immediately after his regular angelus message given on 31 December, the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, where he had addressed the world on the beauty of family life.
“Unfortunately, the celebration of Christmas in Nigeria was marked by serious violence in the State of Plateau, with many victims. I am praying for them and their families.
“May God free Nigeria from these atrocities!” According to the International Christian Concern,” he was quoted as saying.
In the statement, Umoh said that suspected Nigerian militias attacked 21 Christian villages in Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Mangu counties of Plateau State on Christmas Eve, killing nearly 200 villagers according to government officials and humanitarian groups.
He said that the number of dead is expected to rise as families continue to search for missing loved ones.
In the same vein, the Holy Father remembered those who lost their lives in the explosion of the tanker truck in Liberia, victims of war in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Sudan and many other countries.
He remarked: “At the end of a year, let us have the courage to ask ourselves: How many human lives have been broken by armed conflict? How many dead? And how much destruction, suffering, poverty? May those who have interests in these conflicts listen to the voice of their conscience. And let us not forget the suffering Rohingya.”
Umoh said that before his condolences and prayers for the families and victims of the various atrocities, the Holy Father had used his traditional angelus platform to address the world on the beauty of family life, learning from the examples of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
He emphasised on how the humility of heart and the simplicity of gift of their gifts were testimonies to their poverty and suffering and a great surprise for such a special family.
“They arrived in poverty, and set out again loaded with suffering. This is surprising – but how is it that, the Family of Jesus, the only family in history who could boast of having God present in flesh and blood among them, instead of being rich, was poor! Instead of having things easy, it seems this family meets obstacles!
“Instead of being free from hardship, this family is immersed in tremendous sorrows!”
Pope Francis exhorted that the poverty, suffering and inadequacies of the Holy family should be a source of consolation to all human families, especially those experiencing one form of difficulty or the other.
“What does this tell our families, the way the Holy Family lived their life, poor, facing obstacles, with such sorrow? It tells us something very beautiful: God, whom we often imagine to be beyond problems, came to live our life with its problems. He saved us in this way.
“He did not come already an adult, but really little. As the son of a mother and father, he lived in a family where he spent most of his time growing, learning, an everyday life, in hiddenness and silence. And he did not avoid difficulties. Rather, in choosing a family, a family that was “expert in suffering”.
