The John-Henry Westen Show - January 05, 2023


Bishop Describes His Vision of Christ Telling Him How to Defeat Boko Haram


Summary

In the midst of all this, the Church has grown in number. In order for Boko Haram to be stopped, Catholics need to pray the Rosary, says Bishop Oliver Dume of the Catholic Diocese of Meduguri in Nigeria.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Do you have a number of those who have died?
00:00:02.520 From that time to now, we have over 1,000 Catholics.
00:00:06.940 Catholics alone that have been killed.
00:00:09.140 Over 1,000 Catholics have been killed.
00:00:12.220 I mean, to most people, it would sound like a war zone, if not something worse.
00:00:16.200 But yet you say, in the midst of all this, the Church has grown in number?
00:00:21.480 Yes.
00:00:21.920 We at LifeSite are so very honoured to have a LifeFunder to support your work.
00:00:30.000 So in the world today, we hear a lot about persecution of Christians.
00:00:35.860 But nowhere is it more fierce than in Nigeria, where Boko Haram has just pillaged Catholics.
00:00:43.980 We were involved with one priest in the area in Nigeria, where his own parishioners are taken,
00:00:51.720 usually once a week, kidnapped.
00:00:53.880 And who knows what happens to them?
00:00:55.340 Many of them die.
00:00:56.140 But in the midst of that comes a growth in the Church, not a shrinking or falling away.
00:01:04.260 No, no, no.
00:01:04.740 There's a growth in the Church.
00:01:06.740 There's more than that, too.
00:01:08.660 There's a bishop there in Nigeria who had a call from our Lord that in order for Boko Haram
00:01:17.540 to be stopping this persecution, Catholics need to pray the Rosary.
00:01:23.200 We have that bishop with us today.
00:01:25.540 We're so honoured to have Bishop Oliver Dume.
00:01:29.520 Please stay tuned for this episode.
00:01:37.740 Bishop Dume, so good to be with you.
00:01:39.420 I am happy to be with you, too.
00:01:41.660 I am Bishop Oliver Dume, actually, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Meduguri in Nigeria.
00:01:48.740 The Catholic Diocese of Meduguri is situated in the northeastern part of our country, Nigeria.
00:01:53.960 And as you've already said, the Boko Haram crisis started about 13, 14 years ago in the northeastern part of the country.
00:02:03.860 And Meduguri city was declared the capital of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
00:02:11.380 And so they started their operations in Meduguri city.
00:02:15.260 And what is Boko Haram all about is an Islamic sect that is against Western education.
00:02:23.980 It stands in opposition to Western education.
00:02:28.500 And so anything that has a link with Western education should be eliminated.
00:02:34.920 And that is where Christianity also comes in as one of the areas of focus.
00:02:39.600 To eliminate Christianity in the northeastern part of the country.
00:02:45.160 And then, of course, by extension, the entire country.
00:02:47.840 And so from 2009, when I started my advocacy, that was when Boko Haram struck.
00:02:56.140 Boko Haram started in July 2009.
00:02:59.760 And I took over the diocese in August 2009.
00:03:04.100 And therefore, my 13 years as a bishop has been in the midst of the crisis.
00:03:09.000 They started by burning down churches.
00:03:12.960 How many churches are we talking about when they were burning them down?
00:03:17.120 More than 200 Catholic churches in our diocese.
00:03:22.860 Wow.
00:03:23.940 More than 200.
00:03:25.180 Not including our minor seminary that was attacked.
00:03:29.120 And the structures in this minor seminary completely destroyed.
00:03:33.320 As we go, they were not able to get the seminarians.
00:03:36.580 Otherwise, they would have slaughtered them like chickens.
00:03:41.220 And then our Katkitical Training Center, where we trained Katkis, those that had the priests, especially in the rural areas.
00:03:49.620 That school was attacked.
00:03:51.520 And almost all the structures in the school were raised down by the Boko Haram members.
00:03:57.380 Our schools, the mission schools or diocesan schools, were not left untouched.
00:04:04.120 They were also affected.
00:04:06.320 Some of them partially destroyed, some completely destroyed.
00:04:10.760 We have two hospitals.
00:04:12.300 They were taken care of by the nuns as the reverend sisters.
00:04:15.600 Those two hospitals were completely raised down by the Boko Haram members.
00:04:21.880 They also destroyed two congregants, where our reverend sisters were serving the people of God.
00:04:28.240 In addition to this, in 2014, which was the climax of the attacks of this terrorist group,
00:04:36.280 over 100,000 Katkis were displaced.
00:04:40.680 In other words, Boko Haram took over almost the entire areas covered by our own diocese.
00:04:47.200 And so people were running from one direction to the other.
00:04:50.640 Discreted personnel were running in front of the Boko Haram members like little children.
00:04:55.980 And so they have free access to the areas where our people have stayed.
00:05:02.320 And so over 100,000 Katkis were displaced.
00:05:06.780 Some of them ran to the Cameroons, even up to now.
00:05:08.980 We still have our members.
00:05:10.760 Some of them are in Cameroon.
00:05:12.600 Not all of them have come back.
00:05:14.240 Majority have come back, but we still have, you know, a lot of them there.
00:05:19.060 Over 1,000 Katkis are not including other Christians.
00:05:21.800 Now, it was that same year that you heard about the Chibok girls that were adopted.
00:05:31.120 They were taken away.
00:05:31.940 That school is situated in our lives.
00:05:34.500 Over, I mean, up to 279 of the school girls were taken away.
00:05:40.420 And up to now, not less than 100 of them have not yet come back.
00:05:47.340 But more than 111 Katkis have not been found.
00:05:52.060 In that same year, too, you know, they were able to get some of our young men and recruited them into the Army of Oko Haram.
00:06:02.540 Who have successfully recruited into the Army of Oko Haram.
00:06:06.620 We have over 25 priests who were serving God or the people of God in different parishes and institutions who also had to run away for their lives.
00:06:19.740 Since Boko Haram penetrated the areas where they were serving are the people of God.
00:06:26.640 Then we have over 200 Katkis, over 200 Katkis.
00:06:33.100 These ones that assist the priests in the work of evangelization, especially in rural areas and even urban areas.
00:06:41.440 Over 200 of them were attacked, including their family members, their wives and their children that run away from the areas that Oko Haram already or were advancing or had already penetrated.
00:06:59.380 Do you have a number of those who have died?
00:07:01.240 From that time to now, we have over 1,000 Katkis, Katkis alone, that have been killed.
00:07:09.100 Over 1,000 Katkis have been killed.
00:07:13.100 If we include other Christians, the number is much higher.
00:07:18.740 And of course, it is good to note, too, that the Muslims have been affected, too.
00:07:24.520 Some of the Muslims have been killed.
00:07:28.980 In fact, more of the Muslims have been killed in this crisis than living with the Christians.
00:07:36.100 And why is it so?
00:07:37.300 Because the Boko Haram members feel that they are not practicing the pure religion of Islam.
00:07:45.580 You know, they are not practicing it as it should be, according to their own interpretation.
00:07:51.600 Because if they were practicing it, their children shouldn't go to school.
00:07:57.420 Their daughters shouldn't go to school.
00:07:58.780 Their sons shouldn't go to school.
00:07:59.960 They should just be at home.
00:08:01.980 Meanwhile, these people are sending their children to school, so they are not happy with that.
00:08:06.480 That's why they rain, you know, attacks also on the Muslims.
00:08:12.460 But of course, initially, the target was the Christians.
00:08:15.720 And in terms of family disruptions, many of the houses being owned by our members have been destroyed, too.
00:08:26.740 Their family houses have been destroyed.
00:08:29.100 Their shops and business centers have also, you know, most of them have been affected, and particularly being destroyed by, you know, the members.
00:08:39.360 In the midst of all of this, which sounds, I mean, to most people, it would sound like a war zone, if not something worse.
00:08:48.440 But yet you say, in the midst of all this, the church has grown in number?
00:08:53.720 Yes.
00:08:54.160 Just a quick note before we return.
00:08:58.820 If you would like to stay up to date on LifeSite's coverage of the latest life, family, and culture news, subscribe to one of our many newsletters by going to lifesitenews.com slash subscribe.
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00:09:18.940 And now, back to the video.
00:09:20.360 St. Irenaeus says that the blood of the matters is the seed of the gospel.
00:09:30.120 That is what we have practically experienced and we are still experiencing in our diocese.
00:09:35.780 Yes, it is true.
00:09:36.660 A lot of destructions have been done, but in terms of lives and property, let me tell you, John Henry, that the church in the Catholic Diocese of Meduguri now is stronger than the church in the church.
00:09:50.360 The Catholic Diocese of Meduguri before Boko Haram crisis.
00:09:54.160 Both in terms of the quality of the faith of the people and the quantity.
00:09:59.400 You know, that is of the number of the people that have embraced the faith.
00:10:05.620 How is it so?
00:10:06.580 We have two sources of our strength.
00:10:08.680 The Eucharist has been the source of our strength.
00:10:11.540 Of course, when we talk about the Eucharist, after the Mass Day, the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
00:10:18.000 We introduced that right at the beginning of my ministry.
00:10:23.380 That before Mass, every day, there is one hour adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.
00:10:31.560 And after the adoration, then the Mass is celebrated.
00:10:35.700 And in addition to that, in the evening, in most parishes, there is benediction.
00:10:41.940 People, you know, come for this benediction, being officiated or taken care of by the, led by the priests.
00:10:50.800 But let me quickly add that our Mother Mary has also been with us.
00:10:56.600 She has also been a very strong pillar in the life of the Church in this sense.
00:11:05.680 She has been one of the sources of our strength.
00:11:09.240 How is it so?
00:11:10.880 It is so because right at the beginning of my ministry, I introduced various Marian devotions.
00:11:22.020 Various Marian devotions.
00:11:23.320 And then as we, we, we, the time passed on, we came on increasing these devotions.
00:11:32.180 I introduced the, also for the consecration of our Diocese of the Maculay Darupin.
00:11:39.080 The consecration of the Diocese of the Maculay Darupin.
00:11:41.840 We started that in the minor seminary.
00:11:43.680 And that is why people have also been saying that because that event was done in the minor seminary,
00:11:52.860 our Mother Mary protected the minor seminarians.
00:11:55.660 When, after some time, Boko Haram came to the school.
00:11:59.240 And that's why no seminarian was taken.
00:12:01.280 She protected them.
00:12:02.180 Since it was in that environment that her own, you know, devotion was carried out by the, her own children.
00:12:13.360 That is, the consecration of our Diocese of the Maculay Darupin.
00:12:15.760 And since that time, every year, we make sure that is, the event is renewed.
00:12:24.340 And so, we reconfigure the Diocese to the Maculay Darupin every year.
00:12:30.500 And this has been going on for the past 12, 12, 13 years.
00:12:34.360 So, it's not, it's not something that we started yesterday.
00:12:39.480 Secondly, I, we introduced the Diocese celebration of the Feast of Assumption.
00:12:46.540 The Feast of Assumption, you know, was led to the woman.
00:12:49.820 That is before my advent.
00:12:52.060 But when I came, I said, no, let us celebrate it at the Diocese Sunday.
00:12:57.980 And so, many years ago, too, we started that.
00:13:01.740 And up to now, every year, we do it.
00:13:04.360 Now, because of the size of the Diocese, because of the Diocese, our Diocese is the largest in Nigeria in terms of land mass.
00:13:11.820 It's the largest Diocese.
00:13:13.060 It covers two and a half states.
00:13:15.260 So, because of that, we reduced the movement of people by ensuring that the celebration is done at the general level.
00:13:24.740 But here in Medjugorje, I would always be the chief celebrant for the mass to celebrate.
00:13:30.460 And of course, in the rosary, the rosary and the rest.
00:13:36.600 So, that has also been so.
00:13:40.300 And it has come to stay among our people.
00:13:42.740 In addition to this, we have what we call the rosary procession.
00:13:46.700 Yes, our people have been praying the rosary, which is wonderful.
00:13:51.800 But then I introduced this aspect of the rosary procession.
00:13:56.560 In the churches, particularly on Sundays, before the mass begins in a particular parish, the congregation, being led by the priests, embass on the rosary procession around the church.
00:14:13.180 And in the cathedral, it's also done.
00:14:18.820 And then I encouraged the families to pray the rosary procession at the family level.
00:14:25.920 In the bishop's house, that's in my house.
00:14:28.120 Since that time, every evening, we engage in the rosary procession.
00:14:34.240 Every evening.
00:14:35.520 Whether the bishop is around or not, that is done.
00:14:38.340 So, that is one of the Marian adivation.
00:14:40.300 And what is the reason for that?
00:14:42.220 We are doing that because of the history of the rosary procession.
00:14:46.820 The rosary procession stopped communism in Brazil in 1964.
00:14:51.180 When President John Donald wanted to introduce communism or to plant communism in Brazil,
00:15:00.200 Cardinal Camara came out and invited the Catholic faithfully to come and march on the streets praying the rosary.
00:15:08.300 And, of course, those who are dearly involved in that, the women and the children.
00:15:13.060 And that was done, you know, for some days.
00:15:15.640 And that led to the exit of the president, you know, from his position as the president of Brazil.
00:15:22.180 He ran away.
00:15:24.020 The rosary procession sent the despotic president of Philippine, General Marcos,
00:15:32.600 even though a Catholic, but he was, he was very badly.
00:15:36.520 And Cardinal Sin, you know, of Manila, invited the Catholic faithful to come out and embark on that rosary procession.
00:15:45.040 The soldiers later joined them.
00:15:46.840 And, of course, that was the end of his season.
00:15:49.020 The rosary procession also saved Australia from communism.
00:15:54.600 Communism, Russia had a heavy presence there.
00:15:59.000 Even the Allied forces had a heavy presence in Austria.
00:16:02.120 But that priest that led or was given the inspiration to live in the Rosary procession did that.
00:16:08.740 And eventually, without any bullet, windshot, the Russians withdrew.
00:16:14.360 And, of course, the Allied forces also had left Austria.
00:16:18.840 And so, it was attributed to the intervention of our women.
00:16:22.940 So, having read that, I said, let us introduce this.
00:16:26.980 And we started doing it.
00:16:28.120 And it is working.
00:16:29.700 It is already working because I will tell you the results of this, our various marriage and devotions.
00:16:35.360 Now, we also, what we call, the devotion of the devotion to Our Lady of Capitual Health.
00:16:45.700 So, this devotion to Our Lady of Capitual Health, 19 Novena.
00:16:49.640 Particularly, when we have a major event, we make sure that we're in the back of that.
00:16:53.580 We did it during our Marian year.
00:16:56.440 One of the years, we declared the Marian year of our diocese.
00:17:01.260 So, it was one of the Marian activities we did.
00:17:03.700 Then, when we celebrated our going to the establishment of our diocese, about five years ago, we also embarked on that.
00:17:13.560 Now, this year, we had the ordination of my auxiliary mission.
00:17:17.720 The only diocese in the north-eastern part of the country that has an auxiliary.
00:17:22.440 And that is another work of Amora Mary.
00:17:25.200 I will talk about that one later.
00:17:26.740 So, part of the preparation for the ordination was that we embarked on this prayer of the Novena to Our Lady of Alexandria.
00:17:39.100 So, that is also done.
00:17:41.840 Bishop Dume, we at LifeSite are so very honored to have LifeFunder to support your work.
00:17:50.600 Let me tell all of our viewers, please go to LifeFunder and go to the LifeFunder for Bishop Dume and his diocese there in Madaguri.
00:18:03.660 And let's support them because they're doing amazing, miraculous work.
00:18:11.220 And let us join our rosaries to theirs, recognizing that the end of Boko Haram, persecuting our fellow Catholics, our fellow Christians in Nigeria, will come to an end with the prayer of the Most Holy Rosary.
00:18:28.500 Any final words for us, Bishop Dume?
00:18:32.860 Yes, I want to encourage our Catholic faithful in different parts of the world, beginning with Nigeria, that led us to intensify our Marian devotions.
00:18:43.680 Our Marian devotions.
00:18:45.360 I do like the rosary.
00:18:47.260 The rosary has been wonderful.
00:18:50.260 And, you know, our request of our...
00:18:51.820 There are two major requests of Our Lady and Fatima.
00:18:55.700 The consecration of the day of Russia, the Immaculate and of Mary.
00:19:03.000 And, of course, with the renewal of such consecration.
00:19:08.660 That is the consecration of Russia, the Immaculate and Mary.
00:19:13.340 And many folks were involved in that.
00:19:16.060 But, of course, we know Pope Jun Paul II was the one that Our Lady used to crush communism in Russia.
00:19:23.260 Now, this is already part of what we are doing here.
00:19:27.200 And, secondly, the first five months, consecutive five months, you know, that devotion.
00:19:34.580 I didn't know about that until of recent, you know, when a lady from London who invited me for the Marian program there was telling me,
00:19:45.260 I know, I have a professor here in Nigeria who was also confirming what the lady said.
00:19:51.340 And let me tell you, I've already introduced it in my house, in my house, with my household members.
00:19:58.100 We've already started.
00:19:59.900 We have covered two months.
00:20:01.760 And by the time we're through the first five Saturdays of these five months, I will only introduce it in the diacists.
00:20:09.500 I will introduce that in the diacists.
00:20:11.260 And I'm sure with these two, we shall see one that's in our own diacists.
00:20:17.580 The big I wanted to add is that the fact that the Remenjo's peace as a front of diacists
00:20:23.620 ordered many roads that we were not using before, and I'm using those roads.
00:20:28.580 We didn't even order security.
00:20:30.940 You know, in fact, in Nigeria, currently, the battleground has shifted to other parts of Nigeria
00:20:37.780 and not in some part of the country again.
00:20:39.780 We experience a lot of peace here.
00:20:41.960 And by the grace of God, just as you have said, our mother Mary will completely crush Boko Haram.
00:20:46.700 And the church will continue to bloom and flourish in this part of the country, and then even our country, Nigeria, as a whole.
00:20:55.740 So I encourage Catholics and Christians all over the world.
00:20:59.860 We have our different challenges.
00:21:02.740 Here in Europe, we have secularism.
00:21:04.420 That's the greatest challenge we've approached here.
00:21:07.820 Let us intensify the prayer of our rosary.
00:21:11.340 And then other Marian devotions.
00:21:13.400 And for sure, our mother Mary will crush these various demons that we're experiencing in different passages.
00:21:20.220 Amen.
00:21:20.920 Can I ask you one last thing?
00:21:22.980 Would you please impart upon us your apostolic blessing?
00:21:26.360 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
00:21:31.060 Blessed are you among the men, and blessed is the crown of your own Jesus.
00:21:35.440 Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for all sinners, now and at the hour of our gate.
00:21:40.960 Amen.
00:21:41.660 The Lord be with you.
00:21:43.260 And may the Almighty God bless you.
00:21:45.080 The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
00:21:47.860 Thank you so much, Bishop Dume.
00:21:50.100 Thank you, John Henry.
00:21:51.200 Thank you for the privilege.
00:21:52.540 Thank you for the honor you have given me.
00:21:54.880 May God bless you, and may God bless your work.
00:21:57.920 And greet our people here, and I wish you a happy Christmas celebration.
00:22:02.160 God bless you.
00:22:02.960 And God bless all of you.
00:22:04.700 And we'll see you next time.
00:22:07.860 Hi, everyone.
00:22:08.660 This is John Henry Weston.
00:22:09.680 We hope you enjoyed this video.
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00:22:30.000 Thanks for watching, and may God bless you.