The crisis facing Christians in Nigeria drew unprecedented attention this week after U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz publicly described the mass killings as “genocide,” marking what appears to be the first time a U.S. official has used the term in this context, according to LifeSiteNews.
Speaking at an event hosted by the United States Mission to the UN, Waltz said the ongoing attacks cannot be dismissed as disorder or random unrest. “This is not random violence… Nigeria is a vibrant mosaic of cultures and faiths, but it is under siege,” he said, according to LifeSiteNews. He added that jihadi groups “continue to unleash targeted violence… on these Christian communities,” while the Nigerian government has failed “to curb these atrocities.”
The remarks come less than a month after President Donald Trump warned that the United States was prepared “to save our Great Christian population around the World,” and called the situation in Nigeria a “mass slaughter.” At the urging of the president, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa is scheduled to hold hearings on November 20 to address the crisis.
LifeSiteNews reports that the Global Christian Relief (GCR) 2025 Red List identifies Nigeria as the world’s most dangerous nation for Christians. The report notes that many of the killings occur in northern regions governed by Islamic sharia law, where Christian villages are isolated and vulnerable.
Public concern has even reached unexpected voices. Liberal commentator Bill Maher recently argued that the violence is “so much more of a genocide attempt than what is going on in Gaza,” insisting that militants are “literally attempting to wipe out the Christian population of an entire country,” according to LifeSiteNews.
Since 1999, when several northern states adopted sharia law, attacks on Christian communities have dramatically increased. LifeSiteNews notes that over 50,000 Christians have been killed since 2009, with more than 8,000 Christians murdered and thousands abducted in 2023 alone—making it the deadliest year on record for believers in Nigeria.
Catholic clergy have also been targeted. In one reported incident, gunmen attacked the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in Edo State, killing a security guard and kidnapping three seminarians.
While Church voices have long demanded clearer global action, the crisis has also exposed deep tensions within Catholic leadership. At a Vatican event last month, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin cautioned against framing the violence exclusively through religious motives, asserting that the conflict is “not a religious one, but rather more a social” struggle, involving disputes such as those “between herders and farmers.” He added that many Muslims are “themselves victims of this same intolerance,” according to LifeSiteNews.
His comments drew an immediate rebuke from Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria. Viganò described Parolin’s statement as a distortion of reality. “The shameful words… misrepresent the reality of a ferocious and genocidal persecution against Catholics,” he said. He argued that Christians are “being killed in hatred of the Faith they profess,” according to LifeSiteNews.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has likewise warned that the Nigerian government “remains slow or, at times, appears unwilling to respond to this violence,” creating “an environment of impunity for the attackers,” according to findings cited by LifeSiteNews. The commission once again urged the U.S. government to designate Nigeria as a “country of particular concern.”
For Catholics around the world, the intensifying crisis poses a sobering reminder: millions of fellow believers face daily danger simply for professing the faith. As policymakers intensify scrutiny and Church leaders continue to speak out, the faithful are called to pray, advocate, and remain attentive to the suffering of the Body of Christ in Nigeria.
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