Pope Benedict XVI: condolences to Nigeria after Abuja attack
Here is the full text of the telegram conveying Pope Benedict XVI's condolences to
Nigeria's President, Goodluck Jonathan, in the wake of Friday's suicide bomb attack
on UN headquarters in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Excellency Goodluck Jonathan President
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Abuja His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI was distressed
to learn of the terrorist attack upon the United Nations offices in Abuja, and of
the terrible loss of life among both local citizens and United Nations personnel.
He sends Your Excellency and those you represent his sincere sympathy and appeals
again to those who choose death and violence to embrace instead life and respectful
dialogue. The Holy Father earnestly prays for the repose of those whose lives have
been cut short so dramatically, and he cordially invokes God's blessings of courage
and strength upon the injured and those who mourn. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone Secretary
of State