The centre had only recently been rebuilt after Boko Haram destroyed it in 2014. Read more

This practice must stop, says the Nigerian Army. It is begging religious, traditional and community rulers to dissuade parents from donating their children as sacrifices to be strapped with Improvised Explosive Devices, and blown to pieces.

Brigadier-General Sani Usman, says his appeal follows information made by some arrested suicide bombers.

"It was discovered that most of these hapless minors were "donated" to the terrorist sect by their heartless and misguided parents and guardians, as part of their contribution to the perpetuation of the Boko Haram terrorists' dastardly acts against the Nigerian society and humanity.

"The acts of these parents and guardians are not only barbaric, but condemnable and unacceptable.

"Nigerians have a responsibility and obligation to collectively mould our children and wards and define a better future for them rather than condemning them to death by the criminal Boko Haram terrorists and their sympathisers through suicide bombings," Usman says.

Source

• Punch
• Vanguard
• Image: MJ Celebrity Magazine

They are often forced to the back of food and essential supply queues by other refugees because they are Christian and in the minority.

They have had to flee from Boko Haram and are in camps in northern Nigeria. Read more

The bishops' conference health committee chair Bishop Anselm Umoren told a press conference the life of every baby is distinct from that of the parents.

Aborting the unborn children of the rescued women would visit the sin of the terrorists, who impregnated the women, on the innocent, he said.

Bishop Umoren acknowledged the trauma involved in sexual assault and rape.

But he said the Catholic Church in Nigeria is prepared to provide some support to help the healing, rehabilitation and resettlement of the victims, leading to their integration back into society.

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Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme of Maiduguri diocese, in Borno State, recounted the details of his vision to a conference in Spain this month.

The Catholic News Agency reported the bishop saying that vision occurred late last year.

Bishop Dashe was praying the Rosary in his chapel, in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

In the vision, the prelate said, Jesus didn't say anything at first, but extended a sword toward him, and he in turn reached out for it.

"As soon as I received the sword, it turned into a rosary," the bishop said, adding that Jesus then told him three times: "Boko Haram is gone."

"I didn't need any prophet to give me the explanation," he said.

"It was clear that with the Rosary we would be able to expel Boko Haram."

The bishop said he didn't want to tell anyone, but "felt that the Holy Spirit was pushing him to do so".

In 2009, there were around 125,000 Catholics in his diocese.

After a surge in violence from Boko Haram Islamist extremists, today "there are only 50 to 60 thousand left", he said.

Most of those who fled sought safer areas in other parts of Nigeria, he added.

Some of the same families are now returning as armed forces from Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon liberate their homes.

In 2014, Boko Haram became known worldwide when members kidnapped nearly 300 girls from a school in Borno State.

The group has killed 1000 people across Nigeria in the first three months of 2015, according to Human Rights Watch, which reports that more than 6000 have died in Boko Haram-led violence since 2009.

Last month, the group pledged its allegiance to ISIS - also known as the Islamic State.

Nigeria's bishops' conference has consecrated the country to the Virgin Mary twice in recent years.

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Aleteia

Bishop Calistus Onaga of Enugu diocese directed all his parish priests to announce this during recent Sunday Masses.

The hand-bag ban is a security measure in response to recent incursions by Boko Haram militants, especially a foiled bomb attack at a church.

Bishop Onaga said the hand-bag ban was not meant to embarrass women or anyone else, but it is because of the security challenges facing the nation.

He said the ban will be undertaken in a civilised manner, adding that the church does not want to take chances.

Apparently women in Enugu dioceses are allowed to take their purses to Catholic Church services.

But even the purses will have to be scrutinised by church workers.

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"There were a lot of bomb explosions, but that did not seem to deter people from coming to church," said Fr John Bakeni, the celebrant of a March 14 Mass in St Patrick's Cathedral in Maiduguri.

Fr Bakeni said more than 2000 people packed the cathedral.

People told him later that "if the attacks would worsen they would rather die in church than anywhere else".

During the Mass,Fr Bakeni said, he told the congregation "that there was no need to preach".

"I told them: ‘Your presence in such large numbers is a homily in itself.'"

"Please pray that this violence will stop."

The Mass was held during violent attacks on the city, allegedly by radical Islamist group Boko Haram.

The attacks included rocket-propelled grenades and attacks on the city's military barracks.

Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sinful," has declared its animosity for Christianity and the Church, educational institutions, the Nigerian government, and moderate Muslims.

Similar attacks have ignited violent reprisals by pro-Christian militias in the Central African Republic.

But Christian leaders in Nigeria continue to insist on a path of dialogue and nonviolence.

The clerics have also pressed President Goodluck Jonathan to use the state security services against the militants.

These Christian leaders want Jonathan to negotiate with Boko Haram leadership and end the campaign of terror.

Recently, militants have slaughtered both Christians and Muslims in the states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

Driven by the view that non-Muslims are infidels, the militants have attacked churches, government security installations and other institutions.

By 2013, more than 10,000 civilians had been killed in the insurgency which escalated in 2009.

"Nigerians are dying like chickens," said Rev. Evaristus Bassey, national director of Caritas Nigeria, in a statement.

The United Nations estimates the attacks have led to more than 470,000 internally displaced persons in Nigeria.

Catholic Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme said the Boko Haram insurgency is the product of corruption, which the federal government should be combating.

Sources:

• Catholic News Agency
• Religion News Service
• Fides
• Image: Times Live

The assault on the main mosque of Okene showed the true nature of the terrorist attacks by the Islamist insurgency known as Boko Haram, according to Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja.

"Boko Haram is a threat to everyone, not just for Christians," said Archbishop Onaiyekan. "It is not the first time that a mosque is attacked, but previous attacks against mosques have not had the same prominence of attacks against Christian churches, perhaps because when Islamic groups attack a mosque it is not news.

"We must bear in mind that we are dealing with a group of criminals that all Nigerians, Christians and Muslims, must face together.

"Okene is in particular a Muslim community, where a strong Christian minority lives, and is one of the examples where Christians and Muslims live together. So it is not possible to divide the community between Christians and Muslims."

The terrorist attack on the Deeper Life Evangelican Church on the outskirts of Okene was carried out by three men.

Two sprayed gunfire from Kalashnikov assault rifles into those taking part in a Bible study programme, while the third man switched off the generator so there were no lights for those trying to escape.

Though no group claimed responsibility, Boko Haram has attacked both churches and mosques in the past and has been blamed for nearly 700 killings this year alone.

The group's name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's mostly Muslim north. Its demands have included the strict implementation of Islamic Shariah law across the country.

In the terrorist attack on the mosque, gunmen killed four people, including two military guards, during a Muslim programme.

Sources:

Associated Press

Fides

Nigerian Tribune

Image: The Blaze