Violence will not deter Church in Africa: Cardinal Turkson

(Aug. 08. 2012) Violent attacks on Christian churches in Africa are likely to continue but those attacks will not deter Christians from bearing witness to the faith, the president of Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said on Tuesday. Cardinal Peter Kodwo Turkson said “The aim is without any doubt what Christians represent. The Church is vulnerable in part because of a very different approach to religious belief.” The African prelate observed that as a practical matter, most Christian churches are built by preference in places closest to the missions, which often puts them in relatively isolated areas. “Muslim mosque, on the contrary, always stand in the busiest places in the midst of their faithful,” he said. Moreover, the cardinal added - African Christians are distinct from their neighbours in their reaction to the threat of attack. For Christians, he said “having to defend ourselves is not part of our nature.” As for other African faiths, “they think that religion is something that must be defended, that theirs is a god to be defended. Christians, he said, worship a God who wants not to be defended but to “be loved, known, and witnessed to.”
Earlier this week, gunmen killed at least 19 people and left an unknown number wounded in a violent attack on a Christian church in central Nigeria. The armed assault on Deeper Life Bible Church in Okene came on Monday, as members were gathered for a prayer service. At least three gunmen entered the church, turned off the lights to prevent easy escape, and sprayed the congregation with fire from automatic weapons.. The attack is believed to be the work of the Boko Haram terrorist group, which has made multiple violent assaults on Christian targets in the region.