By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA – The Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelisation at the Vatican, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, has warned that Nigeria’s insecurity is self-inflicted, blaming the country’s deep divisions and growing intolerance for its unending cycle of violence.
Speaking at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja, during his reception and induction into the Knights of St John International, Nigeria Subordinate, the Vatican envoy urged Nigerians to see diversity as a source of strength rather than conflict.
“Differences are not supposed to be something negative. God made creation with differences, but He also made them to be united,” he said.
The Vatican envoy, one of the highest-ranking Nigerian prelates in Rome, said true peace would only come when Nigerians learn to build unity across faith and ethnic lines.
“Our differences should not be a source of confusion. Our differences should be harnessed to be a source of beauty in our country. Division should not even be the problem, because whether we are Christians or we are Muslims, our unity flows from our knowledge of God.
“We believe in one God. We are all called monotheistic religions. So I don’t see why we should be having difficulty in creating ourselves, forming a unity in spite of our differences,” he said.
Archbishop Nwachukwu added that the country’s divisions have turned what should be blessings into sources of pain and insecurity.
“We could have differences according to our languages or ethnic origin, but we should all be able to use these differences to form our beauty in our unity,” he said.
The event, attended by clergy, Knights, and Ladies from across Nigeria, featured renewed calls for tolerance, peace, and interfaith harmony.
Prof. Remy Uche, Supreme Subordinate President of the Knights of St John International, said Archbishop Nwachukwu’s induction marked a symbolic moment for the Order and the Church in Nigeria.
“Today is a special gathering because we are receiving into our order a prelate of high global visibility,” he said.
Prof. Uche condemned killings in the name of religion, stressing that such acts contradict God’s commandments.
“God created everybody; man and woman, Christians, Muslims, Hindu, even those who don’t believe in God. But God forbids killing. In fact, it’s one of the commandments of God, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ And I’m not sure any religion permits others to kill others. It’s only those fundamentalists because they are not true members of the religion.
“We condemn such in its totality and pray for peace among ourselves. We are our brother’s keeper. Our president is a Muslim, the wife is a Christian, and they’re living together. So let that love that radiates with the president and his wife radiate among the members of the Church,” he said.
Florence Chuke, President of the Ladies Auxiliary, Abuja Grand Commandery, lamented that women and children continue to bear the brunt of the nation’s insecurity.
“It’s painful to see human beings slaughtered like chickens. We are praying that God will help Nigeria find peace,” she said.
Also speaking, Very Rev. Fr. Mike Umoh, Director of Social Communications at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, emphasised the need for better communication and cooperation within institutions and communities.
“The Church itself is communicative. We can’t speak of a Church without communication, and there are many aspects of communication in the Church people are not even aware of.
“Too many of our churches are hardly able to coordinate the various talents and let everybody play their role. The principle of collaboration and subsidiarity, these are some of the core issues addressed,” he said.
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