The ACN stated, according to ACI Prensa, that it is "deeply shocked by the horrendous attack", in which "many people, including children" died.
WARNING: The images could offend the sensitivity of the reader.
"ACN's thoughts and prayers are with the victims, the injured, their families and the entire Catholic community in Ondo," he said.
Armed men entered this Sunday, June 5, Solemnity of Pentecost, the Catholic Church of San Francisco Xavier in Owo, killing dozens of faithful inside the temple.
Local media say that explosions were also carried out in the vicinity.
Although the death toll has not yet been released by local authorities, images and videos posted on social networks show the massacre. Various users accuse the Fulani herdsmen, violent Muslim majority groups, of the massacre.
ACN asked in its statement that political and religious leaders in the world "firmly and explicitly condemn this terrorist attack", carried out "during the Pentecost Sunday celebrations".
The pontifical foundation denounced that this attack is "another terrorist act in Nigeria, one more in a long list of crimes against Christians."
“The country in general has been shaken by episodes of violence, banditry and kidnappings that, although they affect all ethnic and religious groups in the nation, have led to a long list of major attacks on the Christian community in recent decades”, express.
The Diocese of Ondo expressed in a statement the sadness of the Catholic Church, and lamented that "the identity of the perpetrators remains unknown, while the situation has left the community devastated."
The diocese also specified that, contrary to some local media reports, "all the priests in the parish are safe and no one was kidnapped."
After asking for God's help "to comfort the families of those whose lives were lost in this distressing incident", the Nigerian diocese indicated that the Bishop of Ondo, Msgr. Jude Ayodeji Arogundade, has asked "that we remain calm, let us be law-abiding and pray for peace and normalcy to return to our community, state and country.”
Pope Francis expressed his pain and prayer for the victims of the massacre and for their families. Catholic bishops from various parts of the world have also joined in prayer for the trauma the Christian community is experiencing in Ondo.
Through Twitter, Msgr. José Ángel Saiz Meneses, Archbishop of Seville (Spain), asked that "we pray for the victims, for the country and for peace". The Auxiliary Bishop of Monterrey and former Secretary General of the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate, Msgr. Alfonso Miranda Guardiola, expressed the union of the Church in Mexico "in sadness and pain with the Holy Father, and the diocese of Nigeria, before the numerous victims of an attack on the Catholic Church, including families and children, all of them parishioners.”
ACN recalled in its statement that just a week ago it organized a press conference with the Archbishop of Kaduna, Msgr. Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, "to talk about insecurity and violence in Nigeria."
On that occasion, the Prelate said that “the government has completely failed us; it is the absence of good governance that is causing this.”
“Bandits, Boko Haram, kidnappings, all these are signs of injustice and corruption that exists in the system. Unless we can get to the root of the problem, we will be fighting a losing battle,” he expressed.
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