In a bid to seek and promote peace in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large, Catholic biblical experts in Nigeria, under the aegis of the Catholic Biblical Association of Nigeria (CABAN), gathered for their 16th annual conference at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Abuja, headquarters of the Catholic Church in Nigeria. According to the President of the body of professionals, Sr. (Prof.) Theresa Okure, SHCJ, the three-day programme, held from November 14 to 17, 2023, focused on the theme, “War and peace in the Bible’, and commenced with the Holy Mass on November 15, 2023. Speaking on what informed the theme, Fr. (Prof.) Michael Udoekpo, the LOC Chairman, said the topic which had not been formally treated by CABAN in the past was quite attractive. He added that the painful scars of wars and search for peace in Nigeria, Africa, and the world, cannot be ignored.
According to him, “In this theme, CABAN intends, among other things, to attempt to discover how the two concepts, war and peace, play out progressively in the Bible itself. “Granted that war has recently been brought to our door steps by the hopefully aborted invasion of Niger by the Tinubu led ECOWAS, echoes of wars in Russia/Ukraine, Israel Gaza and other forms of violence in African and in the globe are heard on our door steps daily.
This traumatises us, affects our health, economy, development and needed progress in African families, religious communities and society at large.” Among those that attended the Conference were John Cardinal Onaiyekan, former Archbishop of Abuja; Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, Archbishop of Abuja and Sr. (Prof.) Theresa Okure, SHCJ. Others are Francis Adelabu, Clement Dioka, Philip Igbo, CMF, Luke Ijezie, Ifeyinwa Unigwe, Victor Onwukeme, MSP, Mary Jerome Obiorah, IHM, John Chike Nwanze and many more. Udoekpo, the LOC Chairman said that the conference is very intellectually engaging, with about 28 papers delivered on the occasion. He said; “Religiously, CABAN believes that we need a progressive, life-centred and people-oriented approach to war and peace in the Bible. What do our people who assiduously read the Bible to find answers to their life problems find in it about war and peace?”
