What Pope Leo’s Curia appointments say about Nigeria's Christians – The Catholic Herald

When President Donald Trump spoke in defence of Nigeria’s Christians this month it was met with a range of reactions.
Firstly, Nigerian government officials stumbled over themselves to try to explain away the mass murder of the minority religious group in the country. Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, put it down to the US President’s rhetoric, saying, “Trump’s style of going forceful in order to force a sit-down and have a conversation.”
The secular press also found themselves in an awkward situation. Confused about how best to respond to such claims, they decided they were likely false. Despite their alleged interest in championing the afflicted, they found they could not support Nigerian Christians, not because they were Nigerian, but because they were Christians.
In the press's perpetual game to find out who is the hardest done by, Christianity is automatically dealt the losing card. Christians, no matter how poor or how oppressed, or in the case of Nigeria how genocidally attacked, always find themselves at the bottom of the pile because of their association with the West. The religious group founded by a Palestinian whose adherents are predominantly from the global south has for some reason been inseparably tied to white male privilege.
The BBC, characteristically the most desperate to deny the plight of Christians, went into overdrive to find a way to prove President Trump wrong. With little to go on, since Christians are clearly being murdered in their thousands in Africa’s most populous country, the corporation decided to question the methodology of the InterSociety report, which is thought to have provided the figures Senator Ted Cruz used to raise the alarm. Amazingly, they made no mention of the UK Government’s 2019 Mounstephen Review, which documented systematic violence and concluded that Boko Haram’s targeting of Christians aimed to eliminate Christianity and pave the way for total Islamisation.
Despite the ambiguity at the level of the press and Nigeria’s government, Christians on the ground reacted in support of the president's intervention. The Rev Dr Sylvanus Ukajia, national publicity secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, said, “As the Lord has stirred up President Trump to blow the trumpet on this evil, we join peace-loving and right-thinking Nigerians to call on the [federal government] to put an end to this genocide.”
Similarly, Tersoo Anjila a Christian from Benue State, told the Catholic Herald: “In villages, worshippers have been attacked in churches repeatedly, with thousands killed. There are times Christian communities are attacked and people are murdered in cold blood while asleep. In my state, Benue, over 300 people were massacred some five months ago by Fulani terrorists. I want to make it clear that this is jihad, it is an Islamist expansionist agenda. Any reason advanced for these killings is a lie. I am completely in support of any intervention that will bring an end to this.”
Among the plethora of reactions, Pope Leo and Cardinal Parolin have both spoken on the topic. The pontiff took a middle line, acknowledging the myriad of factors affecting Nigeria but also highlighting that “unfortunately, many Christians have died.” Cardinal Parolin, speaking before Trump’s intervention, was less supportive of Nigeria's Christian cause, describing the violence as a “social conflict”.
However, alongside his comments, the Pope has also quietly signalled his support for the embattled religious minority in the sub-Saharan nation by making two prominent Curia appointments of Nigerian priests.
Fr Edward Daniang Daleng was named Vice-Regent of the Prefecture of the Papal Household on 10 November. The Augustinian priest originates from Plateau State, one of the worst affected areas of Nigeria. Last month saw coordinated assaults in the region killing at least 25 Christian villagers, including six children, in just one week. Fr Daleng now takes hold of the second-highest position in the Vatican office that organises audiences. A long-time friend of the pontiff, he will play an important role in the shaping of this papacy.
The second, and yet more significant, is the appointment of Msgr Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo from Abia State as Assessor for General Affairs of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State on 19 November. Msgr Ekpo is now the third-highest-ranking official in the Section for General Affairs, after the Secretary of State and the Substitute for General Affairs.
The appointments are coherent with the geographical tide of the Catholic Church. During the 20th century, the number of Catholics in sub-Saharan Africa grew by 6,708 per cent. The total number of African ordinations surpassed Europe for the first time in 2019, and the continent is training 34,000 priests in its major seminaries, constituting about 31 per cent of seminarians globally. Nigerian Catholics are a devout group, where 94 per cent of Catholics attend Mass at least weekly.
But nonetheless, their proximity in timing to the attention given to persecuted Christians in their country also suggests quiet support. While Nigerian Christians might be a cause for posturing depending on your political persuasion, the Church has characteristically championed them through concrete action. Two more Nigerians in the Roman Curia will certainly help bring their plight to the consciousness of the Vatican and place Nigerian voices at the heart of the Church’s decision-making.
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When President Donald Trump spoke in defence of Nigeria’s Christians this month it was met with a range of reactions.
Firstly, Nigerian government officials stumbled over themselves to try to explain away the mass murder of the minority religious group in the country. Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, put it down to the US President’s rhetoric, saying, “Trump’s style of going forceful in order to force a sit-down and have a conversation.”
The secular press also found themselves in an awkward situation. Confused about how best to respond to such claims, they decided they were likely false. Despite their alleged interest in championing the afflicted, they found they could not support Nigerian Christians, not because they were Nigerian, but because they were Christians.
In the press's perpetual game to find out who is the hardest done by, Christianity is automatically dealt the losing card. Christians, no matter how poor or how oppressed, or in the case of Nigeria how genocidally attacked, always find themselves at the bottom of the pile because of their association with the West. The religious group founded by a Palestinian whose adherents are predominantly from the global south has for some reason been inseparably tied to white male privilege.
The BBC, characteristically the most desperate to deny the plight of Christians, went into overdrive to find a way to prove President Trump wrong. With little to go on, since Christians are clearly being murdered in their thousands in Africa’s most populous country, the corporation decided to question the methodology of the InterSociety report, which is thought to have provided the figures Senator Ted Cruz used to raise the alarm. Amazingly, they made no mention of the UK Government’s 2019 Mounstephen Review, which documented systematic violence and concluded that Boko Haram’s targeting of Christians aimed to eliminate Christianity and pave the way for total Islamisation.
Despite the ambiguity at the level of the press and Nigeria’s government, Christians on the ground reacted in support of the president's intervention. The Rev Dr Sylvanus Ukajia, national publicity secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, said, “As the Lord has stirred up President Trump to blow the trumpet on this evil, we join peace-loving and right-thinking Nigerians to call on the [federal government] to put an end to this genocide.”
Similarly, Tersoo Anjila a Christian from Benue State, told the Catholic Herald: “In villages, worshippers have been attacked in churches repeatedly, with thousands killed. There are times Christian communities are attacked and people are murdered in cold blood while asleep. In my state, Benue, over 300 people were massacred some five months ago by Fulani terrorists. I want to make it clear that this is jihad, it is an Islamist expansionist agenda. Any reason advanced for these killings is a lie. I am completely in support of any intervention that will bring an end to this.”
Among the plethora of reactions, Pope Leo and Cardinal Parolin have both spoken on the topic. The pontiff took a middle line, acknowledging the myriad of factors affecting Nigeria but also highlighting that “unfortunately, many Christians have died.” Cardinal Parolin, speaking before Trump’s intervention, was less supportive of Nigeria's Christian cause, describing the violence as a “social conflict”.
However, alongside his comments, the Pope has also quietly signalled his support for the embattled religious minority in the sub-Saharan nation by making two prominent Curia appointments of Nigerian priests.
Fr Edward Daniang Daleng was named Vice-Regent of the Prefecture of the Papal Household on 10 November. The Augustinian priest originates from Plateau State, one of the worst affected areas of Nigeria. Last month saw coordinated assaults in the region killing at least 25 Christian villagers, including six children, in just one week. Fr Daleng now takes hold of the second-highest position in the Vatican office that organises audiences. A long-time friend of the pontiff, he will play an important role in the shaping of this papacy.
The second, and yet more significant, is the appointment of Msgr Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo from Abia State as Assessor for General Affairs of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State on 19 November. Msgr Ekpo is now the third-highest-ranking official in the Section for General Affairs, after the Secretary of State and the Substitute for General Affairs.
The appointments are coherent with the geographical tide of the Catholic Church. During the 20th century, the number of Catholics in sub-Saharan Africa grew by 6,708 per cent. The total number of African ordinations surpassed Europe for the first time in 2019, and the continent is training 34,000 priests in its major seminaries, constituting about 31 per cent of seminarians globally. Nigerian Catholics are a devout group, where 94 per cent of Catholics attend Mass at least weekly.
But nonetheless, their proximity in timing to the attention given to persecuted Christians in their country also suggests quiet support. While Nigerian Christians might be a cause for posturing depending on your political persuasion, the Church has characteristically championed them through concrete action. Two more Nigerians in the Roman Curia will certainly help bring their plight to the consciousness of the Vatican and place Nigerian voices at the heart of the Church’s decision-making.
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