François-Régis Salefran / Wikimedia Commons
CV NEWS FEED // The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal Ignatius Kaigama, is speaking out against a rise in anti-Catholic preaching on behalf of Protestant ministers in the Nigerian capital city.
In a homily delivered on Sunday, April 28, Cardinal Kaigama expressed concern over Protestant preachers’ increasingly divisive language against Catholics, according to an Arise News report.
“I see some social media preachers condemning Catholics aggressively,” the Cardinal stated, “you would think their lives or salvation depend on how viciously they condemn the Catholic Church and its doctrine, traditions, worship, etc.”
Cardinal Kaigama asserted several times throughout his homily that “what is most important is not how expert you are in condemning your fellow Christians, but how much fruit you bear by being rooted in Christ.”
“They seem to be so angered by the presence of the Catholic Church in every nook and cranny of the world,” he observed. “They know that the Catholic Church has organizational ability, hierarchical orderliness, uniformity of the sacraments, diplomatic finesse, etc.”
The Cardinal noted that the ministers’ targeted rhetoric almost always centers on claims that Catholics worship the Virgin Mary and lack Biblical knowledge. “They attack us that we worship Mary,” he said, adding: “We don’t. We only honor her as God first honored her, followed by the Archangel.”
“Unfortunately,” he said, “some Christians think they are real Christians depending on how nastily they criticize other Christians or Muslims.”
In these times, the Cardinal emphasized the critical need for kindness, and ecumenical collaboration—to “band together” to address humanitarian issues such as poverty, disease, and illness.
“This is what can make the world go round,” he concluded: “See the neighbor in the eyes of your brother or sister, not as an enemy to be dominated, eliminated, discriminated against, etc.”
