Barely
24 hours after the devastation of their church, members of the St.
Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, near Abuja, yesterday summoned the
courage to hold a mass for the dead.
But
there was outrage over the bombings, which the dreaded Islamic sect,
Boko Haram, said it carried out. No fewer than 25 people died in the
Christmas Day incident.
The
Catholic Arch-Bishop of Abuja Diocese, John Onaiyekan, asked Boko Harm
members to learn to live peacefully with other Nigerians or move to
Somalia and Afghanistan.
Some
Muslim leaders from Suleija Emirate met with the representative of the
Pope in Nigeria, Arch-Bishop Augustine Kasujja, the Bishop of Minna
Diocese, Mathew Uzoukwu.
Members of the congregation trooped out as early as 6am to pray for the dead.
Although the church was filled to the brim as at 9am, the mass could not start until about 11.22am.
The
mass was devoted to a celebration of martyrdom of those who died in the
Christmas Day explosions and to seek forgiveness for the perpetrators
of the bombings.
The
mass was attended by the Catholic Arch-Bishop of Abuja Diocese, John
Onaiyekan; the Papal Nuncio, Bishop Augustine Kasujja, and the Bishop
of Minna Diocese, Mathew Uzoukwu, among other top Catholic clerics.
The
officiating cleric, Bishop Uzoukwu, likened the killing of some members
of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church to the travails of Saint Stephen, the
first martyr in Christendom to die for his faith.
Quoting
copiously from the Acts of Apostle, Chapter 7, he asked members to
accept the fact that “those killed were martyrs of faith; they have not
died in vain”.
“As
they were stoning Stephen, said the cleric, he “called upon God: ‘Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit.” And he knelt down and cried with a loud
voice, ‘Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.’ And when he had said
this, he fell asleep.
“We
should celebrate these martyrs of faith and forgive those who
perpetrated these dastardly acts. We have lost many parishioners, but
we should not lose our faith in the Lord.
“Let us be stronger and be committed to the Lord at this trying period.”
Amid emotions, Rev. Uzoukwu also inspired the parishioners with quotes from Mathew.
Bishop Kasujja, a Ugandan, delivered Pope Benedict XVI’s condolence message.
The
message reads in part: “I wish to express my solidarity with those who
have been hit by this absurd act and invite prayers for the many
victims. Violence is a way that leads only to pain, destruction and
death.”
The congregation later retired into a session of prayers.
In
a chat with reporters after the mass, Bishop Onaiyekan, a former
President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), said: “We are
calling for the evacuation of those in critical condition. They should
be taken abroad for treatment. It is a pity that we still live in a
society where we take those in critical condition abroad.
“The
government should evacuate those injured abroad; we should not behave
that we care when it happened to big people in our society.
“The
Federal Government should also devise a means of averting a recurrence
of the spate of bombings in the country. The government must act
because there is anger and frustration in the land. Something has to be
done soon to forestall further threats to security.
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how awfull.....may God have mercy on us all.
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