As many as 35,000 people have fled their homes in northern Nigeria after continuing attacks from the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. Their numbers include a large number of Catholics who report that churches have been destroyed.

“There is panic. Many just leave everything behind, and run for safety, because they do not know when violence might flare up again,” a source told Aid to the Church in Need on Jan. 24.

On Jan. 20, Boko Haram killed at least 185 people in attacks that rocked Kano city, located in the state of Borno, the Associated Press reports. The coordinated attacks used cars with heavy explosives and suicide bombers who targeted police stations. Men in security uniforms gunned down government officials.

Churches have also been destroyed in Maidiguri in Borno and the city of Bauchi, in Bauchi state.

“It is the stated goal of Boko Haram to make the whole of the north free of Christians,” one source told Aid to the Church in Need.

At the beginning of January, Boko Haram spokesman Abu Qaqa gave Christians a three-day ultimatum to leave the area.

Refugees are headed to where they believe it is safe, especially the city of Jos.

The group has killed at least 935 people since its 2009 uprising, and more than 250 since the beginning of 2012, Human Rights Watch reports.

The Catholic bishops of Nigeria have decried the actions of the group.

Analysts believe the group intends to make the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, appear unable to control the country.

Source: CNA

Benedict XVI says that despite divisions, Christians must look to the future with hope, accepting that victory happens in “God’s timeframes.’”

The Pope offered this invitation Jan 25 as he closed the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with vespers at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

“Despite experiencing in our days the painful situation of division, we Christians can and must look to the future with hope insofar as the victory of Christ means the overcoming of all that prevents us from sharing the fullness of life with him and with others,” he said.

The Resurrection confirms that God’s goodness is stronger than evil and love overcomes death, the Holy Father reminded.

Benedict XVI declared that the goal of complete unity among Christians “has importance for the good of the human family” and is not a “secondary victory.”

This is because “our divisions dim the luminousness of our witness to Christ,” he suggested.

Alluding to the theme of this year’s Week of Prayer, which centered on victory, the Pope noted that in today’s dominant culture the idea of victory is often associated with an immediate success. In the Christian perspective, however, victory is a long and in the eyes of  men not an always linear process of transformation and growth in the good. It happens in God’s timeframes, not ours, and it demands of us a profound faith and patient perseverance.

“Even our expectation of the Church’s visible unity must be patient and confident,” he said. “Our daily prayer and efforts for the unity of Christians have their meaning only in such a disposition.”

Source: Zenit

Christian and Muslim religious leaders in Sierra Leone have formed a network to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The organization is called the Sierra Leone Inter-Religious AIDS Network.

The government has welcomed the initiative and encouraged the religious leaders to use their places of worship and influence to send messages that will lead to behaviour change, especially among youth.

The Director of the country’s National AIDS Commission, Dr. Brima Kargbo, said last week that youths between the ages of 15 and 25 have the highest infection rate of the HIV virus, and that the rate is even higher in the urban areas.

The Head of Caritas in the archdiocese of Free Town, Fr. Peter Conteh, said the Catholic Church supports the initiative and will take part in its efforts.

Source: Vatican Radio

The Bishop of Techiman Catholic diocese in Ghana, the Rt. Rev. Dominic Yeboah Nyarko, has appealed to politicians and their supporters to desist from using abusive, provocative and defamatory language against their opponents during political rallies.

The country will hold parliamentary and presidential elections in December this year. Politicians are touring different parts of Ghana to solicit votes.

Bishop Nyarko said avoidance of negative language will help ensure that the coming elections are free of violence.

He made the appeal last week when he was closing a four-day annual conference of the Catholic Women Association of his diocese at Nkoranza Catholic Basic School Park. He stressed that the stability, peace and development that Ghana is enjoying today is not the fruit of the efforts of security agencies, but rather because the people in the country are God-fearing and have respect for each other.

He reminded Ghanaians of the many lives lost in countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Libya because of politics, and advised them to pray to God for peaceful elections.

Source: Vatican Radio