Duncan Sanchez / Unsplash
Bishop A. Elias Zaidan issued a statement Sept. 24 on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) emphasizing their “solidarity with the bishops and faithful of Africa, as they offer the world a profound witness of respect for human life and dignity amidst ongoing conflicts.”
“In 2025, millions of our brothers and sisters on the African continent live displaced from their homes and communities, forced to flee due to conflict, religious and ethnic persecution, economic hardship and environmental crises,” Bishop Zaidan said. “Cycles of deadly violence and resulting humanitarian crises continue to claim thousands of innocent lives in Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and throughout the Sahel region.”
Bishop Zaidan is the chairman of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace and bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles.
“Due to the rise of extremist violence,” he continued, “Christians, Muslims, and other people of faith are increasingly targeted by campaigns of mass killings, abductions, and forced displacement. We remember, in particular, the hundreds of Christian civilians massacred in recent weeks and months in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and northern regions as well as in eastern Congo.”
Christian communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have suffered a number of horrific attacks this year. CatholicVote previously reported that on Sept. 8-9 Islamic extremists allegedly murdered at least 64 people who were at a local Catholic church in the DRC. On July 27, Islamic State-affiliated militants killed at least 49 Christians who were at local parish’s morning vigil. In February, at least 70 Christians in the DRC were massacred reportedly by an Islamist rebel group, as CatholicVote reported.
Christians in Nigeria have also suffered deeply in recent months and years. On June 13 Islamic militants murdered at least 200 Christians who were in Benue State shelters, CatholicVote previously reported. In January, the humanitarian organization Global Christian Relief issued a report ranking Nigeria as the deadliest country in the world for Christians.
Almost 10,000 Christians were killed between 2022 and 2024 in Nigeria, according to the report.
Bishop Zaidan said in the statement that the bishops “pray that government officials and people of all faiths may work together to bring lasting peace, justice, and security to the continent.”
“We also reaffirm that lifesaving and life-affirming international assistance funding is a crucial complement to these efforts,” he said, adding that both the Church and the U.S. government must contribute to international humanitarian and development assistance so as to cultivate respect for human life and the common good.
“In fraternal unity with the church in Africa, we ask Our Lady Queen of Peace to comfort all those afflicted by violence and grant all people of goodwill the courage to build peace both in their local communities and across borders,” he concluded. “As our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has said, ‘May every community become a “house of peace,” where one learns how to defuse hostility through dialogue, where justice is practiced and forgiveness is cherished.’”
>> US Bishops’ Solidarity Fund to help ‘boundless growth’ of the Catholic church in Africa <<