Vatican condemns attacks on churches in Kenya, Nigeria

(April 30, 3012) The Vatican has vehemently condemned the terrorist attacks on Christian churches in Nigeria and Kenya on Sunday. “The new terrorist attacks in Nigeria - and now also in Kenya – during Christian religious celebrations are indeed horrible and abominable acts,” wrote Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi in a brief note. A person died and 15 people were wounded when a grenade was thrown into a Christian church in Nairobi, Kenya. Meanwhile gunmen attacked worship services at a university campus and a church in northern Nigeria, killing at least 21 people. The attack on Bayero University's campus in Kano where churches hold Sunday services, killed at least 16 people and wounded at least 22 others, according to the Nigerian Red Cross. A later attack in the Maiduguri saw gunmen open fire at a church, killing five people. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the attacks bore similarities to others carried by a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram “We must be close to the victims and communities that suffer from this hateful violence that befalls them just as they peacefully celebrate a faith that proclaims love and peace for all,” Holy See’s spokesman, Fr. Lombardi wrote. He said the entire population, irrespective of religious differences, needs to be encouraged not to give in to the temptation of falling into the vicious circle of murderous hatred.