Ahiara

After long-awaited Chrism Mass, vexed Nigerian diocese called a ‘miracle’
- Mar 31, 2018
“What is happening in Ahiara diocese is nothing short of a miracle,” one local priest said. “The problems of the past are gone for good.”

By Inés San Martín
Papal envoy calls for a ‘new springtime’ for troubled Nigerian diocese
- Mar 12, 2018
The new apostolic administrator of a troubled Nigerian diocese said on Saturday that it’s time to heal, but everyone still needs to remember that, ultimately, the pope is in charge.

By Inés San Martín
Pope Francis in 2017: Walking a tightrope for more stamps in the passport
- Dec 17, 2017
In three out of four of his overseas trips in 2017, Francis had to measure his words and deeds very carefully, knowing that saying too much — or too little — could have been dangerous.

By Inés San Martín

Bishops joust over contested choice as shepherd of Nigerian diocese
- Dec 15, 2017
One Nigerian bishop has broken ranks, publicly calling on Pope Francis to rethink his decision to back Pope Benedict’s choice as the new bishop of a diocese from outside the dominant group.

By Inés San Martín
After dramatic papal threat, Nigerian diocese remains badly split
- Sep 16, 2017
In an extremely complicated dispute in the Nigerian Diocese of Ahaira, even a papal threat to suspend every last priest there doesn’t seem to have stopped the infighting over the controversial appointment of a new bishop five years ago. The two sides remain bitterly divided, accusing one another of being “satanic” and “corrupt,” and right now it’s not even clear the new bishop can set foot in the diocese.

By Inés San Martín
Troubled Nigerian diocese urged to ‘put grievances aside,’ accept bishop
- Aug 23, 2017
Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, president of the Nigerian bishops’ conference, is urging priests in his country’s Ahaira diocese to accept a bishop appointed by Benedict XVI and confirmed by Francis, even though he comes from outside the diocese’s majority ethnic and linguistic group. While some priests say they’re ready to comply with whatever the pope decides, that doesn’t mean the underlying grievances are resolved.

By Inés San Martín

After long-awaited Chrism Mass, vexed Nigerian diocese called a ‘miracle’