Fr. Antoine Tiabondou spent his first six years as a priest serving the Diocese of Fada N'Gourma in Burkina Faso, at the time a place of peaceful coexistence and interreligious dialogue.
He recounts how, starting in 2015, a sudden rise in terrorist attacks, many against Christians, completely changed the country. In 2018 for instance, a church in Fr. Antoine's diocese was destroyed. Then in February 2019, a Spanish priest was killed.
FR. ANTOINE TIABONDOU
Diocese of Fada N'Gourma (Burkina Faso)
“We see this feeling of pain as a trial because the Christian life is not comfortable. It's not about sitting on the couch, drinking a glass of wine. There are real moments of trial, in which we are called to witness to our faith.”
Witnessing to the faith is what Catholics in the Diocese of Fada N'Gourma have been doing. The Church has been distributing food and other essentials to those who have been internally displaced by violence, both Christians and Muslims.
FR. ANTOINE TIABONDOU
Diocese of Fada N'Gourma (Burkina Faso)
“It isn't just Christians who are persecuted and massacred. Muslims too. Many Muslims have been killed while praying. So we understand that it isn't only Christians who suffer. It's the entire population that suffers.”
Fr. Antoine remembers a priest from his own diocese who was kidnapped and has been missing since March 2019. He also recalls a fatal terrorist attack during a Catholic Sunday Mass just two months later. Incidents that have brought the people together.
FR. ANTOINE TIABONDOU
Diocese of Fada N'Gourma (Burkina Faso)
“When this priest was killed alongside five other Catholics, the Muslim federation, the Protestant community, all these communities, showed their closeness and communion with us Catholics.”
Through all the violence and suffering, Fr. Antoine has seen the strength of a people united by the hope for a peaceful future in Burkina Faso.
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