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Terrorist victims were martyrs, Nigerian bishop tells mourners

CWN - May 07, 2012

Bishop John Namanzah Niyiring of Kano, Nigeria, said that Catholics who were killed during a terrorist attack on April 29 should be recognized as martyrs.

The bishop was speaking at the funeral for 10 people who were killed when terrorists bombed the cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima in Kano during Sunday Mass, then followed up with gunfire. The Boko Haram terrorist group is suspected of mounting the assault.

“These beloved Catholics who we mourn today were killed inside the church while worshiping God,” the bishop told the mourners. “We must rejoice with them because they have died as martyrs who will receive merciful judgment of God.”

Bishop Niyiring called upon Nigerian Catholics to draw strength from the martyrs’ deaths and remain steadfast in the face of persecution.

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