Abuja, 24 September, 2019 / 3:44 am (ACI Africa).
The Catholic Bishops in Nigeria have come to the defense of Pope Francis against negative criticisms and termed attacks against the Pontiff “the proverbial ill wind that blows no one any good.”
“The Holy Father Pope Francis has come under attacks in recent times,” the Bishops under their national body of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) stated at the end of their second plenary assembly.
“Of more serious concern are the attacks coming from some higher levels of the Church in some parts of the world,” the Bishops observed.
While CBCN’s statement does not make any specific reference to attacks on Pope Francis, it can be recalled that during the most recent in-flight press conferences, Pope Francis admitted to criticisms leveled against him. On his way to Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, September 4, the Holy Father was presented a new book, which claims “that influential figures in the U.S. Church are out to, if not replace Pope Francis, then to actively challenge him,” National Catholic Register reported.
During the in-flight press conference on his way back to Rome, Pope Francis expressed his awareness that the criticisms against him are also from within the curia.
