Pope Leo XIV has drawn fresh attention to the plight of Christians worldwide, mentioning Nigeria and three other countries in a Sunday post on his official X account.
"In various parts of the world, Christians suffer discrimination and persecution," the Pontiff wrote.
"I think especially of Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sudan, and other countries from which we frequently hear of attacks on communities and places of worship.
"God is a merciful Father who desires peace among all His children! I accompany in prayer the families of Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where in recent days there has been a massacre of civilians.
"Let us pray that all violence may cease and that believers may work together for the common good."
Though brief, the post echoes a concern in Nigeria, where the United States has accused the government of failing to stop the killing of Christians.
On the last day of October, President Donald Trump designated Nigeria a "Country of particular concern," saying Christians face an “existential threat” in the country.
“Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
That designation has been welcomed by some high-ranking Senators and Congressmen in Washington, suggesting the lawmakers may okay Trump's threat to send U.S. troops to crush radical Islamists in Nigeria.
Persecution and Genocide Allegations Divide Nigerians
The US designation, known as the CPC, has divided Nigerians.
Some people, including Christian clerics, welcome the plan to have U.S. troops in Nigeria to crush terrorism. Others argue that Nigeria is a sovereign state that should be allowed to handle its affairs.
The Information and National Orientation Minister, Mohammed Idris, described President Trump's allegations of a Christian genocide in Nigeria as misleading and unreflective of the country's complex security realities.
Terrorists and bandits have destroyed hundreds of churches in Nigeria, and a Christian lady, Leah Sharibu, remains in custody, nearly eight years after she was abducted from her school in the North-Eastern Nigerian town of Dapchi.
Sharibu was among 110 teenage students kidnapped on February 19, 2018, when the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked the Government Girls Science and Technical School in Dapchi, Yobe State.
Although 104 girls were reunited with their families and five were reportedly killed during the abduction, ISWAP continues to hold Leah Sharibu, her released mates saying it is because she refused the terror group's demands to convert to Islam.
She is thought to have been held as a “slave for life.”
Opponents of the CPC designation argue that Muslims are also being killed and Mosques destroyed by terrorists and armed groups.
