Abuja, Nigeria - Working for peace in times of violence

The representatives of the different communities of Sant’Egidio in Nigeria gathered a few days ago in Abuja, the capital of the African giant, to reflect on the challenges facing the church association in the country. In particular they addressed the need to take on the responsibility to testify and communicate peace even in a context marked both by pervasive

violence and - most of all - the threat from the Boko Haram movement, whose terrorist operations shield themselves behind a religious vocabulary.

The representatives asked themselves how to ensure for Nigeria a future of peace, how to establish relationships built on friendship and reciprocal respect with religious leaders, the members of the different faiths, the youth, and how to be a seed of dialogue and of a unifying and compassionate perspective for society.

The Nigerian communities intend to fully live up to the mandate that Pope Francis gave Sant’Egidio on the occasion of his visit to the Community in Rome on June 15th, by implementing the three “Ps” mentioned by the Pope: “Go forth on this path: prayer, the poor and peace. And proceeding this way promote the growth of compassion in the heart of society, and of friendship in the place of the ghosts of enmity and indifference.”