{"id":1446,"date":"2022-11-21T17:19:20","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T16:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thechristian.ng\/?p=1446"},"modified":"2022-11-21T17:19:20","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T16:19:20","slug":"pastor-of-nigerian-church-where-over-40-members-were-killed-recounts-incident-says-a-genocide-is-taking-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thechristian.ng\/?p=1446","title":{"rendered":"Pastor of Nigerian Church where over 40 members were killed recounts incident, says a genocide is taking place"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Bodies being evacuated<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was still saying Mass when I heard the explosions. I\u00a0was in the sanctuary, putting incense in the thurible, preparing for the procession outside the church, when I heard two loud noises and saw my panicked parishioners running in different directions.<\/p>\n

Someone ran to me and shouted: \u201cFather, unknown gunmen!\u201d I don\u2019t know how many of them there were \u2013 some say six, others say four \u2013 but I do know they were organized. Some of the attackers disguised themselves as parishioners and worshiped with us during Mass, knowing the whole time they intended to kill us.<\/p>\n

As bullets filled the air, I thought only of how to save my parishioners. Some of them managed to lock the entrance door and I urged people to move into the sacristy. Once in the inner part of the sacristy, I could not move: children surrounded me, and adults clung to\u00a0me. I shielded them just as a hen shields her chicks. My flock, especially the children, cried out: \u201cFather, please\u00a0save us \u2013 Father, pray!\u201d I told them not to worry, as\u00a0God would do something.<\/p>\n

There were three or four more\u00a0explosions, one after the other inside the Church and\u00a0there was sporadic shooting of guns by the attackers. It\u00a0was a\u00a0well-planned attack that lasted about 20-25 minutes.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Owo Church massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once the message came that the attackers had gone, we left the sacristy. Dead bodies were strewn across the church and there were many injured. My spirit was deeply troubled.<\/p>\n

With the help of parishioners who could drive, we immediately began to take our injured brothers and sisters to St. Louis Hospital and the Federal Medical Center. Since then, I have visited the wounded, praying with them, administering the Sacrament of the Sick and encouraging them to keep hope alive.<\/p>\n

The world has turned away from Nigeria. A genocide is taking place, but no one cares. Nearby security personnel and police failed to come to our rescue, even though the attack lasted at least 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

Culled from Persecuted and Forgotten?: A Report on Christians Oppressed for their Faith 2020-22<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  I was still saying Mass when I heard the explosions. I\u00a0was in the sanctuary, putting incense in the thurible, preparing for the procession outside the church, when I heard two loud noises and saw my panicked parishioners running in different directions. Someone ran to me and shouted: \u201cFather, unknown gunmen!\u201d I don\u2019t know how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":""},"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechristian.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechristian.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechristian.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechristian.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechristian.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1446"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechristian.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1447,"href":"https:\/\/thechristian.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1446\/revisions\/1447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechristian.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechristian.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechristian.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}