Letter
Letter to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria Following Wave of Killings, June 23, 2025
+Saint Joseph Cafasso
June 23, 2025
Most Reverend Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji
Archbishop of Owerri
President
Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria
Abuja, Nigeria
Dear Archbishop Ugorji,
On behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, I write to
express our profound sadness and steadfast ecclesial solidarity with the people of Nigeria following the recent wave of killings in Benue State and other parts of the country.
We pray for the families of those killed, for the injured and traumatized, and for the communities affected by this brutal violence. As you and your brother bishops in Nigeria declared nine days of fervent prayer for your country, we join you in beseeching almighty God for peace, justice, reconciliation, and fraternal solidarity between peoples of all faiths in Nigeria.
I have read your Conference’s June 6th and 19th statements and join you in calling for an end to the “relentless attacks on innocent and defenceless communities.” I also wholeheartedly echo our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV’s prayers for “security, justice, and peace” in Nigeria and “in particular for the rural Christian communities in the
state of Benue, who have unceasingly been victims of violence.”
May the souls of Benue’s faithful departed rest in peace and may the Lord comfort all those who mourn.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
(The Most Reverend) Timothy P. Broglio
Archbishop for the Military Services, USA
President, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops