{"id":15061,"date":"2016-05-18T07:01:22","date_gmt":"2016-05-18T07:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/?p=15061"},"modified":"2016-05-18T07:01:22","modified_gmt":"2016-05-18T07:01:22","slug":"working-towards-unification-and-harmony-acn-malta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/18\/working-towards-unification-and-harmony-acn-malta\/","title":{"rendered":"Working towards unification and harmony &#8211; ACN Malta"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Working towards unification and harmony<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the diocese of Sokoto \u00a0in northern Nigeria, Bishop Matthew Kukah not only deals with the normal sacramental and pastoral concerns of any diocese. He also has to cope with the violence and regular attacks against the small Christian minority living in the mainly Muslim area.<\/p>\n<p>For many Christians in northern Nigeria, persecution is not just something that happened long ago in the early \u00a0history of the Church. It\u2019s a reality they live with every day. Christian churches and businesses \u2013 as well as the people who frequent them \u2013 suffer targeted violence at the hands of Islamist extremists. Many of them wonder \u201cwhy have they and their institutions become target practice,\u201d says Bishop Kukah.<\/p>\n<p>After the attacks, Christians face many bureaucratic challenges and lack of government support as they struggle to rebuild their communities. While some targets of violence find government aid in rebuilding and accessing services such as schools and hospitals, the state in northern Nigeria merely \u201clooks on\u201d as Christian churches and institutions struggle to rebuild.\u201cOur churches are being bombed with no compensation paid for the schools or other properties of the Church\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The bishop explained that the situation could not be described \u00a0as a constant state of fear, but rather one of uncertainty. \u201cYou don\u2019t know what to expect tomorrow\u201d he said. He added that the violence Christians suffered from Muslim extremists very often is \u201cunprovoked\u201d by the Christian community, but instead occurs as a reaction to events such as unfair elections, economic misfortunes, or international events such as American military actions in Libya or Iraq. Faced with this uncertainty, \u201cChristians have relocated themselves to where they feel safe. Muslims have done the same.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition, both Christian and moderate Muslim communities face attacks from the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram, which \u00a0the Global Terrorism Index named as the world\u2019s deadliest terrorist organization, greater than ISIS. Since 2009, changing government relations and radicalization within Boko Haram have resulted in a dramatic increase in violent attacks against civilian targets, including the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibook, Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the division and disharmony, Bishop Kukah still hopes that the region can move towards unification, a process that will require \u201cleaders to bring things back together.\u201d He stressed that first step in countering violence is to educate the public to counter projections and prejudices, which \u201care based on fear\u201d and misunderstanding. Catholic schools play a unique role in achieving this aim.<\/p>\n<p>The In addition, the bishop said, international actors have a role to play in reducing violence throughout northern Nigeria, noting that policies and conflicts around the world bear consequences for Nigeria. He urged the U.S. and other countries to call attention to the persecution faced by Christians and other communities in Nigeria, emphasizing that the opportunity to help those facing violence \u201cis really a call to appreciation of our common humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, Bishop Kukah admitted that while international support is important, the solution to violence in Nigeria will ultimately come from within the country. \u201cThe primary responsibility of rebuilding our country rests with us.\u201d The government should focus on providing specific, practical solutions. Moving towards peace will require a collective effort, but to Bishop Kukah, it is one worth making.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we\u2019re making progress, we\u2019re also assuming responsibility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>ACN Malta<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Working towards unification and harmony &nbsp; In the diocese of Sokoto \u00a0in northern Nigeria, Bishop Matthew Kukah not only deals with the normal sacramental and pastoral concerns of any diocese. He also has to cope with the violence and regular attacks against the small Christian minority living in the mainly Muslim area. For many Christians&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-newsletters"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Working towards unification and harmony - ACN Malta - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/05\/18\/working-towards-unification-and-harmony-acn-malta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Working towards unification and harmony - ACN Malta - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Working towards unification and harmony &nbsp; In the diocese of Sokoto \u00a0in northern Nigeria, Bishop Matthew Kukah not only deals with the normal sacramental and pastoral concerns of any diocese. 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