(OSV News) — The killing of Father Charles Igechi June 7 is further evidence of Christian persecution in Nigeria, church officials in the country say.
The priest was on his way to St. Michael College in Ikhueniro, where he was assigned, when unidentified gunmen swooped in and shot him in the back.
Archbishop Augustine Akubeze of Benin City said in a statement that the body of the priest was found in Ikpoba Hill, not far from Benin City, the capital and largest city of Edo state in southern Nigeria.
“With deep sadness and sorrow in our hearts, we wish to inform you of the death of one of our priests in the Archdiocese, Father Charles Onomhoale Igechi, who was ordained on the 13 of August 2022 and who until his death was the Vice Principal of St. Michael College, Ikhueniro,” the archbishop said June 8 in a condolence message.
Father Igechi was killed only 10 months after he was ordained.
2. Nigeria’s Diocese of Kafanchan appeals for ‘intense prayers’ for abducted priest
Father Emmanuel Uchechukwu Okolo said Yakubu, a priest from Holy Trinity Parish in Karku, was taken from the rectory at about 11 p.m. on Sunday.
3. Nigeria: bishop marks anniversary of church massacre
On the first anniversary of the Pentecost Sunday church attack in Nigeria, the bishop of the diocese where the slaughter took place said that the evils of terrorism can scar people for life.
Bishop Jude Arogundade told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that the extremists who killed 41 people and injured more than 80 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo on June 5, 2022, are still at large.
During Mass that day, explosives went off, and disguised gunmen opened fire inside the packed church.
Bishop Arogundade called for “sober reflection on how far we are ready to go to protect human life and its dignity and sanctity as a nation.” The bishop added that people often say, “time heals, and we should move on by committing the memory of the victims to history,” but it is important to mark the anniversary of the massacre by “reminding the world of the evil of terrorism and the long-term effects it has on people.”
4. Jerusalem’s chief Sephardic rabbi condemns harassment of Christians
Shlomo Amar’s unusual statement in English follows multiple small incidents and an unauthorized protest led by the city’s deputy mayor against Evangelicals
5. Charlie Camosy: A Glimpse into a Post-Christian Future: Public Support for Killing the Poor and Disabled
Opponents of PAK in the United States have pointed to the dystopia to the north of us, and so far their strategy seems successful: even in many blue states (especially out east), PAK is not legal. Yet why has Canada gone so far with PAK? Returning to the polling figures cited at the beginning of this essay, what are we to make of these numbers in a progressive country that has adopted a position so antithetical to how Americans understand social justice?
One reason is that progressivism in the United States has retained aspects of its Christian inheritance—with its focus on nonviolence, inherent and inalienable human dignity, and preference for the most vulnerable. Progressivism in secular Canada, especially among young Canadians, is by now far removed from these commitments. Thus, in Canada, killing the most vulnerable human beings comports well with a society that values giving individuals what they ask for (autonomy), and a just distribution of resources (equity) in ways that allow the most people to derive the greatest benefit from them (utilitarianism).
It doesn’t take a genius to point out the tensions here: equity very often conflicts with utility calculations, and the poor and disabled are some of the least autonomous human beings in our communities. But that doesn’t stop the secular state, and even secular academic bioethicists in both Canada and the United States, from attempting to muddle their way through with these incoherent values in play.
The fact that increased cultural distance from Christianity may have helped pave the way for Canada’s PAK regime is further suggested by what’s happened—and what has not happened—in the much more religious United States. While Oregon and Washington (two of the least Christian states) have had legal PAK for decades, it has only recently become legal in states like California and New Jersey. And despite the best efforts of groups like Compassion and Choices (formerly the Hemlock Society), PAK is still illegal in most of the country—including in deep blue states like New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, as noted earlier.
The arguments that have won the day in deep blue USA are—you guessed it—about the slippery slope of such laws and the effect that they will have on the poor and disabled. Unsurprisingly, the most effective advocates against such laws are disability rights advocates (and especially disabled people themselves) who point to the disturbing data about why people seek PAK. When physical pain doesn’t even make the top five reasons people in Oregon request PAK—but fear of loss of autonomy, fear of loss of enjoyable activities, and fear of being a burden on others do make the top five—this sends a very clear message to the disabled: it’s reasonable that someone like you would want to kill yourself. And in Canada, they take the next step: we think someone like you might want to take advantage of the legal right to kill yourself.
6. Baby Born With Three Parents
According to the BBC, for the first time in the U.K., a baby has been born with DNA from not only mom and dad, but also another woman.
7. In a message on the poor, Pope Francis includes this:
I cannot fail to mention in particular an increasingly evident form of poverty that affects young people. How much frustration and how many suicides are being caused by the illusions created by a culture that leads young people to think that they are “losers”, “good for nothing”. Let us help them react to these malign influences and find ways to help them grow into self-assured and generous men and women.
8. Illinois set to nix school choice program for low-income children
9. EPPC: Age Verification: Policy Ideas for States
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12. Biden admin’s gay rights advocacy in foreign policy hurting other human rights goals: Analysis
In 2022, 132 embassies issued Pride statements, 99 flew rainbow flags
13. Pro Life and Family office vandalized by LGBT marchers in Rome
14. Imprint News: Hundreds of Kids in Texas Foster Care Were Still Sleeping in Hotels or Other Unlicensed Placements Last Month
15. Inside Higher Ed: Helping Former Foster Students Succeed
A UCLA report says holistic services, financial aid, consistent staffing and social programming can help students who lack family support and guidance.
16. In Jacksonville, Florida: Safe haven for children before foster care placement being built
This is not an ordinary house; it’s called the Isaiah 117 house, and it’s a place for children to go before they receive foster care placement. Children, who are removed from their homes by the Department of Children and Family Services, can go to this house for shelter, clothing, and anything else they may need before being placed with foster parents.
So often, before children are placed in foster care, they are put in case workers’ offices while they wait for a home. That means in some cases, kids sleep in case workers’ offices, which can be traumatic for a child, especially after they’ve just been removed from their home.
There are eight other states across the country that have Isaiah 117 homes.
The Raiford Church offered up the land so the Isaiah 117 house can help children in surrounding communities.
The house is being built by more than 80 volunteers from four different states, who, according to Phil Duval with Carpenters for Christ, have all taken time off from their paying jobs to come and work on this house.
17. Andrea Picciotti-Bayer: Why America needs the Sisters of Life, not the ‘Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’
18. The Federalist: A Pregnancy Care Center Helped Me Become A Mom And Follower Of Jesus
After speaking with the thoughtful, compassionate female staff at PFCC, I was given a complete list of all of my options, in addition to more information about the abortion procedure itself. I realized I couldn’t put my child through such a horrific event, and I knew in my heart that I’d never cope with the regret that, tragically, so many post-abortive women feel. I ultimately decided to keep my child, which gave me great peace, even though I knew it would be hard to care for another little one at just 15 years old, while also raising my three siblings. This challenge has helped me grow in my faith and not limit my abilities.
19. Naomi Schaefer Riley: How age silos hurt everyone
From churches to schools, people are too often grouped by age. We’re missing out on the benefits of intergenerational learning
20. Katie Yoder: Meet the musician with hit Christian songs now becoming a priest
“One day, I was just like, ‘Where do I feel peace? Where do I feel joy?’” he remembered. “And it was always in the Church.”
He used one of his favorite songs — “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2 — in his entrance essay to get into seminary.
“The lyrics kind of follow aspects of my life and sort of my path into the Church,” he explained. “Spiritually, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, until I finally found Christ in the Church and, hopefully now, in the holy priesthood.”
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