{"id":80371,"date":"2025-12-16T13:11:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T13:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=80371"},"modified":"2025-12-16T13:11:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T13:11:13","slug":"honour-god-as-path-to-peace-csn-secretary-general-tells-nigerians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2025\/12\/16\/honour-god-as-path-to-peace-csn-secretary-general-tells-nigerians\/","title":{"rendered":"Honour God as Path to Peace, CSN Secretary General Tells Nigerians\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Abah Anthony John<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria CSN, Rev. Fr. Michael Banjo, has called on Nigerians to give glory to God in their personal lives, homes and public affairs as the foundation for lasting peace, amid worsening insecurity and social challenges in the country.<\/p>\n

Fr. Banjo made the call recently, during the Festival of Lessons and Carols held at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja, where he delivered the Christmas message themed Peace on Earth, Glory to God in the Highest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis evening, through the gift of music and the dedication of our choristers, our hearts have been lifted, our burdens lightened, and our waiting for Christmas given a beautiful voice,\u201d he said, commending the CSN choir and other choristers for their role in preparing minds and hearts for Christmas.<\/p>\n

Explaining the theme, Fr. Banjo said peace cannot endure where God is ignored.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we want peace on earth, we must first give glory to God,\u201d he said, stressing that honouring God goes beyond prayers and hymns to shaping \u201cour choices, our conduct and our priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

He warned that dishonest practices in daily life destroy inner peace. \u201cThere can be no peace within us when money is made through fraud, corruption or exploitation,\u201d he said, citing examples of traders who cheat customers or manipulate fuel pumps. \u201cSuch crooked paths may bring temporary gain, but they do not give glory to God, and what does not give glory to God cannot give lasting peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CSN Secretary General also spoke strongly about family life, saying violence, disrespect and unforgiveness undermine peace at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no peace where a husband is violent to his wife, or where a wife openly disrespects and dishonours her husband,\u201d he said, noting that forgiveness and mutual respect are essential because \u201cGod is love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turning to national issues, Fr. Banjo said peace is impossible where leadership lacks accountability and citizens abandon conscience.<\/p>\n

He condemned vote buying and identity-based politics, warning that \u201cwhen elections are traded for personal gain\u2026 we deny God the glory he deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n

He linked moral failure in governance to Nigeria\u2019s security crisis, describing persistent killings and abductions as deeply troubling.<\/p>\n

He cited the abduction of about 165 students and staff from a Catholic school in Kontagora, expressing hope that they would reunite with their families before Christmas.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtecting life is not a favour prompted by foreign pressure; it is the primary duty of government,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cevery Nigerian life matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the grim realities, Fr. Banjo urged Nigerians not to despair, reminding them of the Christmas message of hope.<\/p>\n

He said the celebration coinciding with Gaudete Sunday was a call \u201cto rejoice even in the midst of hardship.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to him, true Christian joy is \u201ccourageous joy, born of faith in a God who is always with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we return to our homes after this event, may God\u2019s protection be with us and may we enjoy now and always the peace that his birth brings,\u201d he prayed, wishing all present a blessed Christmas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Abah Anthony John The Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria CSN, Rev. Fr. Michael Banjo, has called on Nigerians to give glory to God in their personal lives, homes and public affairs as the foundation for lasting peace, amid worsening insecurity and social challenges in the country. Fr. Banjo made the call […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":80372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177,172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abuja-reports","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80371"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80373,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80371\/revisions\/80373"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}