Nigerian bishop: Africa is not immune to what caused the decline of the Church in Europe

While churches across Western Europe continue to close their doors, repurpose their buildings, or grapple with widespread apathy, Nigeria is experiencing a Catholic awakening that defies global trends.

With an estimated 35 million Catholics and a staggering 94 percent weekly Mass attendance rate (apparently the highest in the world), the West African nation has undeniably become one of the most vibrant strongholds of global Catholicism. But this explosive growth in Nigeria and Africa as a whole is not without its shadows.

In this wide-ranging interview with Catholic World Report, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah of Nigeria’s Sokoto Diocese dives into the roots of Nigeria’s faith explosion, attributing it to the foundational sacrifices of early missionaries and the towering moral stature of the first generation of indigenous clergy.

 Yet, even as he celebrates this phenomenal growth, Kukah is not oblivious to the fact that the secular virus that crippled European Christianity could also infect Africa.

The Nigerian prelate warns his flock not to give in to fear because of the myriad challenges the Church faces, from the creeping threat of materialism and the spiritual dangers of sending unformed youth to the West, to the immediate, bloody reality of terrorist attacks and the murder of seminarians.

Explaining why the European Church lost its moral authority by embracing secular power, Kukah argues that the future of the Catholic Church in Nigeria, as well as Africa as a whole, will not be sustained by biological reproduction alone, but by a deeply personal, convicted faith built on the blood of martyrs.

Following are excerpts of that conversation.

 CWR: Church Life Africa (CLA) says Nigeria is now home to about 35 million Catholics and records the world’s highest weekly Mass attendance, making it one of the strongest centers of global Catholicism. To what do you attribute this remarkable vibrancy and deep commitment to the faith among Nigerians, especially when contrasted with the apathy seen in many Western countries?

Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah: Although your figures are modest, I will not argue with you because the growth of the Catholic Church has been phenomenal over time. There are many factors that account for this growth: the quality of missionary work, their sacrifices and the solid foundations that they laid, the education and health services they offered us, the life of virtue that Catholicism espoused, all of these made a great appeal to our people.

A generation of very inspiring members of the indigenous clergy also raised the bar and set a pace that gave Catholicism an appeal. I am speaking of the first generation of our African clergy who led the Church, such as Cardinals Ekandem, Arinze, Okogie, and John Onaiyekan.

Their towering stature had great appeal and inspired a generation of young men and women.

CWR: Across Africa, the Catholic population has grown from 2 million in 1900 to 281 million today. In your pastoral experience, how much of this do you attribute to the inherent spiritual warmth of the African culture versus the structural efforts of the Church?

Bishop Kukah: Human agency, of course, is a function of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, without whom we cannot call Jesus Lord.

Structures such as cathedrals had their own appeal in those days, but now, increasingly, as the Church took root and a new generation of men and women of faith emerged, the focus has been on the influence of the Church in public life. So, beyond the numbers and structures, we must never lose sight of the images that Jesus himself used, such as light, yeast, city on a hill, and so on.

So, behind the numbers, we must insist on the fruits of this faith because that is what can sustain us.

CWR: A startling statistic from the CLA report is that 85 to 90 percent of Catholic growth in Africa comes simply from Catholics having children, while only 10 to 15 percent is from adult conversion and active evangelization. As a leader, does this statistic worry you? Why is a faith that relies primarily on biological reproduction rather than active evangelization inherently fragile?

Bishop Kukah: Well, as you know, statistics have their relevance, but they are useful and malleable tools that anyone can use.

 Mere biological reproduction is a factor, but in real life, as a priest, I have baptized and now, as a bishop, have confirmed young men and women in tertiary institutions and so on. In many dioceses, we are witnessing a robust surge of enthusiasm among the youth, not to speak of converts from other faiths beyond the body of Christ itself.

Fragility is built into any institution that is left unattended. This is why pope after pope, synod after synod, have focused on the need for us to renew the face of the earth, to evangelize. The last four popes, for example, all added a great sense of urgency to the call for a new evangelization, and … the call for a synodal church.

 There is an increase in the consciousness that we must become less clerical and open the doors to the energy of the laity. Recent papal appointments of Ms. Maria Alvarado and Sr. Alessandra Smerilli as Prefects to the Dicasteries for Communication and Integral Human Development point to this fact.

CWR: Europe was once the absolute heart of global Catholicism, with countries like Ireland, Spain, and France known for their massive congregations. Today, many of their churches are empty, sold off, or repurposed. In your view, what specific mistakes did the European Church make in faith formation that led to this collapse?

Bishop Kukah: I often say we should continue to ask ourselves why and how a group of eleven frightened and largely uneducated men would have taken the gospel to the ends of the earth as the apostles did?

And remember that Jesus told them not to even carry money and to rely solely on the Holy Spirit. They were hounded by the authorities of the Roman Empire and retreated to the catacombs. They did not seek secular power, but relied on the power of the Holy Spirit. I think what eroded the moral authority of the Church was the warm romance and embrace of secular power. Once the Church leaves the ground floor where the people are and ascends to the upper chambers of power, it gradually loses its moral force.

Secularism exploited this; the Church embraced the world and became like the world it was supposed to change. For us, the lesson is to work out how to manage the attractions of modernity while ensuring that we leave no room for what both St. John Paul and Pope Benedict warned us about: falling victim to the culture of relativism.

CWR: Many assume Africa is “immune” to secularism. But looking at Europe’s trajectory, do you see the early seeds of that same decline—such as materialism, the influence of social media, or shifting cultural values taking root among African youths today?

Bishop Kukah: There is no immunity for this virus. The only immunity is to learn from the history of others.

My grandmother used to tell us that what made the mother vulture bald would also make her baby bald. The diminishing moral force of the Church is a warning to us. Today, the African elite—I can speak authoritatively about my country, Nigeria—believe that unless you are poor, your children should not study in Nigeria. And, the elites are looting their national treasuries to fund the education of their children in foreign lands.

Do not get me wrong, because I am a beneficiary of foreign education. I am not against it. I am all for it. However, so many of our Catholics are sending their children to far places with very poor levels of emotional, physical, and spiritual maturity. This poses a danger for the future.

So, the solid formation of our children and youth must be uppermost in our minds as parents and pastors. It is the only guarantee of the future of the Church. 

CWR: While spiritual apathy is a slow threat, terrorism is an immediate one. We are seeing attacks by terrorist groups and bandits disrupting worship, displacing priests, and forcing the suspension of Masses in parts of Nigeria. How has this physical persecution altered the landscape of the Church in affected regions?

Bishop Kukah: I have remained persistent and consistent in my firm belief that for the real Christian, persecution is not something we should run away from or go around crying for help from abroad.

The history of our Church is a history of innocent blood and martyrdom. We all want to live in peace and safety. However, we know from our history that persecution has only made us strong. I am a witness to this. I have lost a seminarian, a young 18-year-old man who was kidnapped, along with three of his mates. After negotiations and payment of ransom, his three colleagues were freed, while he was murdered. As God would have it, the kidnappers were caught one year later, and they confessed that they killed him because, despite their guns and knowing they were Muslims, he insisted that they must repent of their crimes and return to God!

Today, the Bishop’s House is named after him! There is a shrine in his honor in the Seminary in Kaduna! Those who threaten to kill for God are idol worshippers, and we know they have mouths that cannot speak, eyes that cannot see, and ears that cannot hear. We cannot fear them because our faith is built on the blood of martyrs.

CWR: When parishioners are worried about their physical survival, how does the Church effectively catechize them and prevent them from falling into spiritual despair or abandoning their faith entirely?

Bishop Kukah: We live in a world that is broken. I have held the view that what we call persecution is largely another name for state failure, a state unable to protect its own children.

This calls for resilience. I was at a meeting of the bishops of West Africa, and we had a discussion on this topic. One of the bishops said that in response to insecurity, he had instructed the parishioners to come to Mass in fewer numbers so that if anything happens, the casualties would not be much.

I held the opposite view. I believe the God we worship will defend us, and we cannot surrender to fear because if we do, we will be worshipping in their evil temple. So, my attitude is pray, pray, and engage the state as it seeks to protect us all. But we must encourage our people to banish fear. If we tell them to stop coming to worship due to fear, we may never get them back because these evil people have no calendar, and the saddest thing will be for our people to remain confused and to surrender and lose their faith.

CWR: Practically speaking, what must the Catholic Church in Nigeria and in Africa do differently today to shift from a model of “inherited faith” to a model of “personal, convicted faith”?

Bishop Kukah: I think across Africa, the Faith has taken firm root. Everywhere you turn, it is at least 98% local clergy and so on.

So, our roots are deep. All we need to do is consolidate the gains that we have made. The faith of our people is strong, but our elites are falling victim and occasionally lapsing towards neo-paganism. Coping with the brokenness of the state in Africa has consequences, and often the first victims are the values and virtues of our faith.

CWR: Looking at the next 20 to 30 years, what is your personal vision and prayer for the Nigerian Catholic Church? Do you believe Nigeria can truly avoid Europe’s fate and become a sustainable, deeply rooted center of global Catholicism?

Bishop Kukah: 20 to 30 years? I do not know where I will be, but the Church is eternal. I cannot dream for that generation.

The only message is for us to remember the words of the song, ‘Faith of our fathers, living still, in spite of dungeon, fire and sword…We will be true to thee till death!’

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