Oyo, 11 February, 2022 / 9:40 pm (ACI Africa).
Nigerians can wade through the challenges facing the country by embracing “true valentine love”, which is characterized by self-denial and sacrifice, a Catholic Bishop in the West African country has said.
In his Friday, February 11 message on the World Day of the sick, Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo says that “the sick, the poor, the marginalized, the captives, the bereaved, and the refugees all need a chunk of the tremendous quantum of love energy available all around at valentine.”
“The trying period which Nigeria is passing through at present actually calls for true valentine love, the type which embraces Lenten virtues like self-denial, sacrifice and laying down of one’s life for others,” Bishop Badejo says.
The Local Ordinary of Nigeria’s Oyo Diocese who doubles as the President of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS) further says that the world day of the sick occurring three days before Valentine’s Day “qualifies to be the Catholic Church’s Valentine for the sick and the poor.”
Making reference to The Message of Pope Francis for the 30th World Day of the Sick 2022 titled, “Standing Beside those who Suffer on a Path of Charity,” Bishop Badejo notes that the focus of the Church is “the plight of the sick and the needy, people who most need our love and care as well as on those who care for them.”