Catholic Nuns & Priests Biafran War

I read probably the most interesting article I will ever read from Peter Worthington, the extreme right-wing writer from the Toronto Sun. Worthington was one of the Sun's founders and is a veteran of the Korean War.

Worthington is well travelled as a foreign correspondent. He spent time covering the Biafran War in Nigeria (1967 to 1970). The South Eastern part of the country, Biafra, broke away from Nigeria. I was born in Nigeria and my family left the country prior to this war.

I don't pretend to know a lot about the Biafran conflict, other than the British boundary for Nigeria, made sense only to the British. The Brits were knee deep in this conflict, as were other Euro countries, over vast oil reserves in the Biafran territory. Many of the issues that cause wars in the 21st century were present in the Biafran War, oil and Muslim v. Christian conflicts.

Worthington's article concentrated on the bravery of nuns in the conflict zone. Many refused to leave the country and insisted on helping the poor. My uncle, who is a Catholic priest, also remained in  country during the war, as did many of his colleagues.

Worthington points out that American nuns are busy doing good work for the poor and sick in America. The Catholic hierarchy is trying to crack down on the nuns, as their agenda consists almost entirely on the abortion issue. No other issue matters to the leaders of the Catholic Church. This is a legacy of the far right John Paul II. He was Pope for so long that he stacked the College of Cardinals with like-minded, extreme right-wingers.

What is heartening about the story is that the nuns refuse to be pushed around by the church leaders. What remains good about the church can be found in the tireless work of these nuns, working with the most weak and infirm of society. They provide a sharp contrast to the paedophile scandals that church leaders tried to sweep under the rug.

Worthington, who normally sides with the elite leadership, saw their great work first hand in a conflict zone. He was clearly moved and sides with the nuns in their never ending battle with the all male leadership of their beloved church.