Archbishop Kaigama Calls For More Prayers

The Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Ignatius Kaigama, has urged Nigerians to increase the habit of prayer and faith in God especially now the country and the whole world is facing hard times due to coronavirus.

Kaigama in an interview with reporters said ‘We pray that the Church will even be stronger, more vibrant and that people will be more conscious of whom they are as Christians and we will begin to see radical changes in even the social sphere; that people will bring their faith with them to their places of work.

‘What happens mostly with religious practice in Nigeria is that the Moslems go to the Mosque, the Christians go to the Church, but we deposit our faith there and wait for when we return second time for prayer.

‘We are supposed to carry this faith with us and make sure we integrate this faith with our daily social lives.

‘That is lacking. And that is why somebody who is very devout in the Church, in the Mosque, goes to office where there are resources to be distributed to people and instead of being that genuine religious person, he or she is a different person because he doesn’t consider the neighbour as important, he doesn’t apply the resources, the funds meant to alleviate poverty and reduce hardship.

‘He doesn’t do that. He thinks of himself or herself and that is where religion is just a mere formality. We want to see religion that touches life, influences life and transforms life.

‘So, we are hoping that religious attendants at public events may not be the same as before where we would have 1,000; 2,000 in a Church. It is not about the quantity, but also about the quality and, therefore, when the law allows us, we will assemble people in their hundreds or thousands.

‘But where the law does not allow us, the few that are allowed by law to assemble for religious worship, we will carry on with them and I think it will achieve the results that we desire.