–Rev Dachomo

By Michael Lim

Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, the Regional Leader of the Church of Christ in Nations, COCIN has raised the alarm that suspected terrorists sent him and members of his church a letter threatening to kill them days after nine of his relatives were killed in an attack on communities in Plateau State.

The pastor shared the statement on x, saying copies of the threat letter had already been handed over to security agencies.

The threat letter was written in both Hausa and English, he said. In the statement, he said:

“A few days ago, Fulani herdsmen sent a threatening letter to me and to members of my church. The letter was written in both Hausa and English, and its message was terrifying.

“They vowed to attack me and kill me soon, just as they killed nine of my relatives. Copies of the threatening letters have already been handed over to the security operatives,” he said.

Despite the threats, the cleric said he remained unafraid because he believed his life was in God’s hands.

“Many people have asked me if I am afraid. My answer is no. I am not afraid because my life is in the hands of Almighty God,” he said.

Quoting Psalm 118:6, he added, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do unto me?”

Dachomo decried the recent attack that left him with painful memories of burying loved ones and comforting families devastated by violence.

In his words:

“I know what it means to bury those I love. I know what it means to wipe the tears of children who watched their parents murdered. I know what it means to stand before grieving families whose only crime was refusing to deny Jesus Christ.

“Now they say I will be next. But I ask the world, what is my crime?” he said.

The pastor questioned if advocating for widows, orphans and persecuted Christians had become an offence saying:

“Is my crime that I speak for widows who have no voice? Is my crime that I cry for orphaned children whose parents were murdered? Is my crime that I tell the stories of persecuted Christians in Nigeria so the world will not forget them?

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, arrived in the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 2 July to take part in celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the country, and concluded his visit on Tuesday, 7 July.

The West African nation is home to more than 30 million Catholics and over 10,000 Catholic priests, while continuing to face significant internal security challenges.

During the visit, as reported by the Secretariat of State’s official X account, @TerzaLoggia, Archbishop Gallagher met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa.

Also present were Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu and ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray.

Following the meeting, President Tinubu told local media that he had reaffirmed the government’s commitment to giving priority to interreligious dialogue and to promoting peace, harmony, and tolerance among the country’s different religious communities.

The Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations also celebrated Mass on Sunday morning at the Pro-Cathedral of Our Lady Queen of Nigeria in Garki, Abuja, in thanksgiving for 50 years of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Nigeria.

Vatican News

By Michael Lim

The Vatican on Tuesday stressed a long-standing rule that only an ordained priest or ​deacon can give a sermon at a Catholic mass, ‌turning down German bishops’ proposal to broaden the practice and allow sermons by women or other laypeople.

Responding to the request, a release from the Vatican insisted that “The current discipline cannot be dispensed ​from,” said the Vatican’s Dicastery for ​Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, ⁠ which oversees worship by the world’s over 1.4 billion Catholics.

Catholic ​masses include a sermon, where a priest or a deacon ​offers a reflection on the day’s Bible readings. The German bishops’ conference had asked earlier this year for permission for laypeople to also offer ​sermons.

Sources indicate the German request echoed sentiments from many bishops in ​the U.S. and other European countries, who say many laypeople are as ‌capable ⁠of preaching as priests. They often cite a desire to hear sermons from women, who cannot be ordained in the Catholic Church.

The Vatican did not provide its full response to the German ​bishops, only ​a press release ⁠summarizing its decision.

“The reservation of the homily to a priest or deacons is not a ​merely disciplinary norm but derives from the very ​nature ⁠of the liturgy,” the release said.

The Catholic Church teaches that during a mass, a priest acts “in persona Christi” (in the person of ⁠Christ), ​and it is God who acts ​through the priest during worship.

Laypeople are allowed to give sermons at prayer services ​outside of a mass