US ambassador to Holy See says mass killings of Christians in Nigeria are ‘intolerable’

Burch made his comments about threats to religious freedom in the African nation at an event hosted by the U.S. Vatican Embassy in conjunction with Solidarity with the Persecuted Church (SPC) on Friday.  

The ambassador’s remarks follow attacks by gunmen who abducted Christians at several churches on Easter Sunday. Five people were killed, and another 35 were abducted, according to an Archdiocese of Kaduna report. 

Burch told EWTN News that the current situation is a “conflict between radical Islamic groups and Christians because of their faith.”

“The United States is the greatest friend of religious liberty,” said Burch. “The purpose of this event is to call attention to the plight of Christians who are being targeted and killed in Nigeria. Unfortunately, there are extremist Islamic groups that have been targeting Christians specifically in their churches and their homes, and the scale and size of the persecution of Christians there is intolerable.”

“The president has said that Christians face an existential crisis in Nigeria, and thanks to his leadership, he is now acting to bring an end to this. We have called on the Nigerian government to take necessary steps to protect Christians, and the United States government is now working in partnership with the Nigerian government to assist them in doing just that,” said the ambassador.

Both Nigerian officials and the Holy See’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin have challenged evidence in recent months that the conflict is one of Islamists’ brutality toward Christians. 

In October, Parolin “stressed that the situation there is ‘not a religious conflict, but rather more a social one, for example, disputes between herders and farmers,’” according to a Vatican News report.

“We should also recognize that many Muslims in Nigeria are themselves victims of this same intolerance,” said Parolin, suggesting that the attackers are “extremist groups that make no distinctions in pursuing their goals. They use violence against anyone they see as an opponent.”

Contrary to Parolin’s dismissal of the Islamist attacks, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBNC) published a statement in November strongly condemning “the atrocities that have brought untold anguish to many communities.”

The fear gripping Nigerian Christians is ever-present as they are systematically being targeted, kidnapped, and killed.  

Titled, “Peace In Nigeria: Moving From Fragility To Stability,” the bishops’ language captures the pain and abject terror that the African nation’s Christians routinely experience.  

“The persistent violence … has claimed countless lives, destroyed homes, and displaced families,” wrote the bishops. “Predominantly Christian communities, particularly in the Northern and middle belt regions of the country, have come under repeated and brutal attacks, resulting in heavy casualties and the tragic loss of many Christian lives.” 

“The near-total destruction and occupation of some communities, and the continued attacks on displaced persons even in camps, have deepened the people’s sense of abandonment and despair,” they noted. “Such prolonged unbearable conditions have given credence to allegations of ‘genocide’ in some quarters.”

“Cases of abduction of several worshippers in Kwara State (who, thankfully, have been released), twenty-five young girls in Kebbi State, thirteen female farmers in Borno State, two hundred and sixty-five students and their teachers in Papiri, Niger State, brutal killing of more than seventy persons in Southern Taraba and the displacement of thousands there, attest to the troubling scale of the security crisis,” the bishops added, recounting just a few of this year’s atrocities. 

“These tragedies, together with the killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba and many security personnel, reveal the extent to which criminality has penetrated our national life,” they wrote. “When criminals can strike schools, farms, and communities with impunity, it threatens the very foundations of family life, education, and social stability. Such attacks violate our shared humanity and endanger the future of our nation.”

The bishops urged the government to be faithful to its constitutional duty “to protect the lives and property of all citizens.”

“Those responsible for these heinous crimes must be identified and brought to justice, for without accountability there can be no lasting peace,” they said. “We urge that reports of delayed or withheld security responses in some affected communities be thoroughly investigated in order to rebuild public trust.”

Catholic Vote reported that the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) had collected data from 2019 to 2023.  A total of 55,910 people were killed in that timespan, including 30,880 civilians and 25,030 members of Security Forces or terror groups.

“A total of 21,621 people were abducted, the vast majority (21,532) of them civilians,” the report stated.  There were 11,610 attacks with killings and/or abductions, including 8,905 attacks with killings only, 1,065 with both killings and abductions, and 1,640 with abductions only.

“As Nigeria goes, so goes Africa. More Christians are martyred for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country on earth,” said Steven Wagner, president of SPC, at Friday’s embassy event.  

“There is a huge crisis of internally displaced persons. We are calling on the Vatican to increase public awareness of the problem and to continue to encourage the government of Nigeria to make progress in protecting its people,” said Wagner.