Niger's Christians try to forgive on first Easter after church attacks

[Yahoo! News]

View attachment 19939​

Thousands of Christians across Niger tried to forgive and move on as they celebrated the first Easter since their churches were torched during deadly riots spurred by the publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed. The walls and ceiling are still black from flames at the Saint Gabriel parish church in the capital Niamey, which was left without doors or windows by the unrest in January that killed 10 people and destroyed eight out of ten of the country's churches. We have forgiven, but what happened is still in our hearts," said Father Paul Wendyam Sandwidi, a priest at Saint Gabriel's. Saint Gabriel and 44 other churches were torched -- causing three million euros in damage -- during protests set off when the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo published the image of the Prophet Mohammed on its cover three months ago.

Continue reading...