The Voice of the suffering in Africa

Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin tells the international pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need about the human rights violations that occurred from 2020 to 2022, during the devastating war in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, and particularly the sexual violence against women and girls. Parts of his diocese are still occupied, and many roads are insecure. In the accessible regions. the diocese is carrying out trauma-healing projects to help the many thousands of people whose lives are broken.  “During the war, we were completely cut off. The Internet and telephones didn’t work, and we could hardly leave our ...

Eight months after hundreds of Christians were massacred on Christmas Eve, and three months after another carnage on Easter Monday, the Nigerian government has failed to keep people safe, according to a priest caring for displaced people. Survivors of massacres by extremists in Nigeria’s Middle Belt “have no trust” in their leaders as they face continued attacks on their farms and an increasing food shortage, Father Andrew Dewan, director of communications in the Diocese of Pankshin, revealed. Father Dewan told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that “elected officials are just not interested in the welfare ...

Gerald Musa’s father converted to Christianity at age 12. He could not have imagined then that his son would become the first bishop from the influential Hausa people.   Though mostly used nowadays to refer to the Pope, bishops in the Catholic Church have traditionally been called “pontifex,” which is Latin for “bridge maker.” This title is particularly appropriate in the case of Bishop Gerald Mamman Musa of Katsina, in northern Nigeria.  In 2023, Gerald Musa became the first-ever member of the Hausa ethnic group to be made a bishop. This is significant because the vast majority of Hausas are ...

Nigerian priest Father Mikah Suleiman was released on Sunday, July 7th, after more than two weeks in captivity.   The parish priest of St. Raymond’s Catholic Church in Damba, Nigeria had been abducted from his presbytery in the Diocese of Sokoto, in the early hours of Saturday, June 22nd. In the days that followed, fears for his safety grew, especially after a video was released, in which the captive priest warned of threats to kill him. Father Suleiman said, “[The bandits] told me that killing a person is not difficult for them. Please save my life in the name of God.”  ...

In this message, which was sent to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the bishop denounces the killings “of a peaceful population, left without defense and without security,” the abduction of persons “without a single trace,” and the rape of girls and women.

“Despite all this, the number of faithful in the archdiocese has increased. And our schools and hospitals are among the most renowned in the country.” Over the past 30 years, 16 new parishes have been established, and the archdiocese boasts 25 female and 13 male religious congregations, and 106 seminarians.