The Vatican and a local Catholic bishop have reacted to the Pentecost massacre in a church in Nigeria which, according to available information, left at least 50 people dead.
The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (Aid to the Church in Need – ACN) also reacted with a shocked appeal this Sunday.
The massacre is reported to have taken place during a Mass on Pentecost Sunday at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria.
A video posted on Twitter shows images of corpses and blood in the church. The Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Akeredolu, stated that many children were among the dead.
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"I am deeply saddened by the attack and murder of innocent people in Owo, who were praying today in St. Francis Catholic Church," the governor said in a tweet. According to him, this "vile and satanic attack" is a calculated attack on peace-loving people.
"It is Pentecost Sunday, a time when every Catholic should be in church to celebrate the solemnity. It is sad to say that during Holy Mass, men of unknown origin armed with guns attacked St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church," said Father Augustine Ikwu, Director of Communications for the Diocese of Ondo, in a statement sent to ACN.
A state lawmaker, Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole, told the Associated Press that the attackers also detonated bombs.
The Vatican issued a statement indicating that Pope Francis had been informed of the attack.
"The Pope has learned of the attack on the church in Ondo, Nigeria, and the death of dozens of worshippers, many children, during the celebration of Pentecost," the Vatican said.
"While the details of the incident are being clarified, Pope Francis prays for the victims and for the country, painfully affected at a moment of celebration, and entrusts both to the Lord so that he may send his Spirit to comfort them."
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) condemned this outbreak of violence as another terrorist act in Nigeria, "one more on the long list of crimes against Christians."
"The country is shaken by violence, banditry and kidnappings which, although affecting all ethnic and religious groups in the country, have given rise to a long list of serious attacks against the Christian community in recent decades," the charity said.
Just last week, "Aid to the Church in Need" held a press conference with Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso of Kaduna to discuss insecurity and violence in Nigeria.
Although the problems come from different directions, Archbishop Matthew was clear: "The government has completely abandoned us; it is the absence of good governance that is at the root of this situation. The bandits, Boko Haram, the kidnappings – all these phenomena are symptoms of the injustice, the corruption that reigns in the system. If we cannot address the root of the problem, we will be fighting a losing battle."
The massacre took place in southwestern Nigeria, a region that had not yet been affected by the insecurity and violence that typically plague the north and the "Middle Belt."
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