“For we are given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed”
[Aug.01.2022] Some parishes in Burkina Faso have been attacked so badly that they have been forced to close down, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has warned. According to Christian Today, the Diocese of Fada N’Gourma, in Eastern Burkina Faso, is facing a dire situation after an ‘explosion’ of Islamic terrorism.
It has reported an increase in robberies, kidnappings, and murders across the diocese, where 95 %of villages no longer have any parish priest because of the number of terror attacks. According to ACN figures, 155 out of 532 villages in the diocese were accessible for pastoral work in September 2021. By April this year, that number had fallen to just 29.
Five of the diocese’s 16 parishes have been forced to close because of attacks. In seven parishes, the ministry of the main church has been restricted because terrorists control land routes and have destroyed telephone communication networks. There have been other reports of jihadists entering churches and forcing male and female members of the congregation to sit separately.
Dr. Caroline Hull, National Director ACN (UK), said: “It is heartbreaking that so many of the faithful in Burkina Faso are having to go without access to their parish priest because of the acts of terrorists.
“ACN seeks to meet both the spiritual and material needs of those we support so we will be doing everything we can to help the suffering Christian communities in the diocese of Fada N’Gourma.”
Dr. Hull warned that jihadism is growing across all of Africa but especially in the Sahel region, where Burkina Faso is located. The rise in jihadism has seen a corresponding increase in the persecution of Christians. Dr. Hull is urging the international community to be vigilant.
“The international community needs to keep a close eye on this new epicenter of terrorism because left unchecked it could become incredibly disruptive, not just to Africa but to the rest of the world too,” she said.
Burkina Paso was ranked 32nd in the 2022 list of countries where Christianity is persecuted. In the Muslim-dominated northern and eastern parts of the county, where Christians are a minority, Islamic jihadists have displaced hundreds of thousands of refugees, including 40,000 Christians. (Source: Christian Daily, Christian Today UK).
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. (2 Corinthians 4:4,11)
Dear God, we lift Burkina Faso to Your hands, where the persecution of Islamic extremists targeting Christians in the Sahel is increasing. Please protect the believers in this land, who no longer have priests to serve the church because of the constant kidnapping and murder, and raise up workers to serve them. Through the witnesses given over to death for Jesus’ sake, we pray that those who have persecuted the church will receive Jesus Christ and that the light of eternal life may come to Burkina Faso.
Prayer 24·365
prayer@prayer24365.org
