Vatican official calls on Muslims to denounce violence, decries Nigerian government’s ineffectiveness
December 31, 2025
» Continue to this story on Fides
CWN Editor's Note: The secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization strongly criticized the Nigerian government for its inability to protect Christians and called on Muslims to “denounce and reject the use of their religion to commit acts of violence.”
In an interview with the Fides News Agency, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, a native of Nigeria, said that “numerous indications suggest that there are groups determined to systematically attack Christian communities”—a far different assessment from that of Nigerian Archbishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, who recently dismissed claims of persecution there.
Archbishop Nwachukwu also suggested that the recent US strikes in Nigeria might be justified. Asked to comment on whether the strikes were “appropriate and viable,” he said:
A country can find itself unable to cope with its own crises and divisions without external help. I see many Muslim friends who do not know how to react to what is happening, and the government’s inaction is evident. In this situation, external intervention, even indirect, to support the state and the government against extremist groups and help the country eliminate the causes of widespread violence, might not be entirely unjustified or out of place.The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
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