Benjamin Achi, the director of communications in Nigeria’s Diocese of Enugu, where abductions targeting priests have been on the rise in recent months, told ACI Africa:

“We woke up a day after Christmas to the horrible news of the gruesome decapitation of Christian hostages by the Islamic State terrorists.”

The priest’s comments referred to a December 26 video depicting militants beheading 10 blindfolded captives, and shooting an eleventh.

He said the December killings might portend even more Islamist violence in Nigeria.

“This latest development gives serious cause for worry, especially in the wake of the latest move by the federal government of Nigeria to throw wide the borders of the country for anyone who wishes from any part of the continent to come in without visas and proper documentation,” the priest told ACI Africa.

On December 28, Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and Sacraments, tweeted about the December 26 killings.

“In Nigeria, the murder of eleven Christians by mad Islamists is a reminder of how many of my African brothers in Christ live faith at the risk of their own lives,” Sarah wrote.

“These baptized are martyrs. They have not betrayed the Gospel,” the cardinal added.

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Photo: Angelus News