In the letter he shared with ACI Africa, Fr. Peter Konteh calls on governments in West Africa to implement structures to protect “ministers of peace, compassion, reconciliation, and love”, and who he says “carry no weapons.”
Fr. Konteh highlights in particular Nigeria, which has been designated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) owing to increased persecution of Christians.
He makes particular reference to the February 7 kidnapping of a Catholic Priest alongside 10 others in Kafanchan Catholic Diocese in a terrorist attack in which three innocent people were killed.
In the letter dated Monday, February 9, the Sierra Leonean Catholic Priest describes the attack on Holy Trinity Parish of the Nigerian Catholic Diocese as “barbaric, shocking, heartbreaking, and totally unacceptable.”
“It is deeply disturbing that Catholic Priests have become deliberate targets of violence. Our Priests are ministers of peace, compassion, reconciliation, and love. They carry no weapons. They serve no political agenda. They exist solely to serve God’s people. Healing wounds, consoling the broken, and preaching hope,” he says.
Fr. Konteh laments, “Why, all of a sudden, are we witnessing such insecurity in lands where faith once flourished freely? Why are shepherds being hunted? Why are innocent believers paying with their lives simply for practicing their faith?”
He goes on to express concern that violence against the Church in West Africa is spreading fast, saying, “From Nigeria to other troubled regions, even places once considered safe are now experiencing alarming levels of violence. This growing insecurity threatens not only clergy but the very fabric of our communities.”
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms all acts of violence against Priests and against the people of God,” the Clergy of Sierra Leone’s Catholic Archdiocese of Freetown says, and adds, “No cause — political, ethnic, or religious — can ever justify murder, abduction, or terror.”
“I call on governments, security agencies, and international partners to take urgent and concrete action to protect religious leaders and vulnerable communities,” he appeals, adding, “Silence is no longer an option.”
In his letter, the Second Vice President of the Regional Union of Diocesan Priests of West Africa, who also serves as Executive Director of Caritas Freetown in Sierra Leone expresses solidarity with the suffering Church in West Africa, including his country Sierra Leone where violence against the Clergy and Church properties has also been said to be on the rise.
“To our suffering brothers and sisters: you are not alone. The Church in Africa stands with you,” he said.
“We pray for the immediate release of the kidnapped priest,” Fr. Konteh says referring to Fr. Nathaniel Asuwaye who was kidnapped from Holy Trinity Parish of Kafanchan Diocese.
He continues, “We mourn those who have been killed. We stand in solidarity with their families. And we recommit ourselves to being voices for peace in a world growing dangerously numb to human suffering.”
“Our priests are priests of peace. Our Church is a Church of love. Our faith will not be silenced by fear,” the Catholic Priest says.