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Migration Not A Threat To Christianity – Pope Francis
Pope Francis, a strong advocate of the rights of refugees, said in a new book published Monday that migration does not pose a threat to Christianity.
“To reject a struggling migrant, whatever his or her religious belief, out of fear of diluting a ‘Christian’ culture is grotesquely to mispresent both Christianity and culture,” he said.
“Migration is not a threat to Christianity except in the minds of those who benefit from claiming it is.
“To promote the Gospel and not welcome the strangers in need, nor affirm their humanity as children of God, is to seek to encourage a culture that is Christian in name only, emptied of all that makes it distinctive.”
READ ALSO: Group Calls For Peaceful Coexistence Between Christians, Muslims
The pontiff made the comments in “Let Us Dream”, a new book written in conversation with British biographer Austen Ivereigh.
The pope, the grandson of Italian emigrants who settled in Argentina, regularly expresses solidarity with migrants who cross the Mediterranean, mourning those who lose their lives and denouncing rich countries that fail to welcome them.
“The dignity of our peoples demands safe corridors for migrants and refugees so they can move without fear from deadly areas to safer ones,” he said in the book.
READ ALSO: Give Peace A Chance, PFN Nat’l President Appeals To Nigerian Youths
“It is unacceptable to deter immigration by letting hundreds of migrants die in perilous sea crossings or desert treks. The Lord will ask us to account for each one of those deaths.”
He condemned leaders who “channel their resentments and hatreds against imagined enemies to distract from the real problems”, the 83-year-old pontiff wrote.
“A fantasy of national-populism in countries with Christian majorities is its defence of ‘Christian civilisation’ from perceived enemies, whether Islam, Jews, the European Union or the United Nations,” he said.
“The defence appeals to those who are often no longer religious but who regard their nation’s inheritance as a kind of identity.
READ ALSO: CAN Explains Why Churches Should Remain Closed
“Their fears and loss of identity have increased at the same time as attendance at churches has declined,” Francis said.
(AFP/Channels TV)
News
Edo NLC Crisis: Caretaker Committee Drags Rival Exco, Govt To Court
The division in the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), took a new dimension on Wednesday as Prof. Monday Monday Lewis Igbafen-led caretaker committee approached the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Benin Judicial Division, seeking to affirm its authority and restrain a rival executive from parading itself as the council’s leadership.
Joined in the suit are the Edo State Government, the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.
In a suit marked: NICN/BEN/12/2026, and filed before the court in Benin, the claimant, Igbafen, acting for himself and on behalf of the NLC Caretaker Committee in Edo State, is challenging the continued occupation of the union’s secretariat and control of its assets by members of the Bernard Egwakhide-led factional State Executive Council.
READ ALSO:Edo NLC Divided Over May Day Celebration
The claimants are asking the court to declare that the caretaker committee (Igbafen-led faction), constituted on August 11, 2025, by the NLC national leadership, remains the only lawful authority to administer the affairs of the Edo State Council pending fresh elections.
They further seek a declaration that the continued occupation of the NLC secretariat located at No. 1 Teboga Road, Benin City, as well as the retention of union assets, financial records, and official instruments by the defendants, is illegal and void.
The suit also prays for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from parading themselves as officials of the NLC Edo Council or interfering with the functions of the caretaker committee.
In addition, the claimants are seeking a mandatory order compelling the defendants to immediately hand over the secretariat, vehicles, financial documents, cheque books, and all other properties belonging to the union.
READ ALSO:JUST IN: NLC Begins Meeting With ASUU, Other Unions Over Strike
The caretaker committee further urged the court to restrain the state government and its officials from interfering in the internal affairs of the union, alleging undue support for the dissolved executive.
The claimants further demand N50 million as general and exemplary damages against the defendants for alleged unlawful usurpation of office and acts prejudicial to the administration of the council.
According to court documents made available to our correspondent, the crisis followed the dissolution of the Edo State Council by the NLC National Executive Council on February 27, 2025, over allegations of misconduct, anti-union activities, and constitutional violations.
However, the matter has yet to be assigned a hearing date.
News
Transfer: Premier League Clubs Scramble For Dele-Bashiru
Lazio midfielder, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru is a subject of interest from three Premier League clubs, according to Sky Sports.
Lazio reportedly rejected offers from Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth for the Nigeria international in January.
READ ALSO:Film Premiere: Edo In Talks With Embassies To Promote Safe Migration —Agazuma
La Biancolesti are bracing for more interest in Dele-Bashiru ahead of the summer transfer window, according to Sky Sports.
The 24-year-old has two years left on his contract with the Serie A club.
The attacking midfielder joined the Rome-based club from Turkish Super Lig outfit Hatayspor in 2024.
He has been a regular feature for Lazio this season.
News
Xenophobic Attacks: Nigerian Students To Picket MTN, MultiChoice, Other Businesses
The leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS South-West Zone D, has announced plans to picket South African companies in Nigeria following the ongoing xenophobic attacks in the country.
DAILY POST reports that some Nigerians were recently killed in South Africa over the violent attacks.
A statement issued to newsmen by Comrade Adeyemo Josiah Kayode, Coordinator, NANS South-West, Zone D, said that the association is mobilizing to take decisive and lawful action by organizing peaceful picketing and mass advocacy against South African business interests operating in Nigeria.
READ ALSO:Xenophobic Attacks: Oshiomhole Tells FG To Retaliate Against South African Companies In Nigeria
“We categorically state that the continued targeting of Nigerians under any guise is unacceptable and must come to an immediate end.
“This will include major corporations such as MTN Group and MultiChoice Group. It is morally indefensible for businesses to thrive in an environment where the lives of Nigerians are protected, while Nigerians are subjected to fear and violence elsewhere.
“This contradiction will no longer be tolerated,” the statement said.
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