Knights deplore insecurity in Nigeria, urge religious tolerance

AMID bombings and killings across Nigeria, the Knights and Ladies of St. John International drawn from the United States (U.S.), West Africa, United Kingdom (UK) Germany, Canada and the Caribbean Islands, have decried the rising insecurity in the country occasioned by the activities of the Boko Haram sect.They therefore called for religious tolerance to ensure unity and progress in the African most populous nation.The Knights stated this recently at their International and Biennial Convention at Charlotte, U.S., which held under the theme, 'Gather us together-make us one bread, one body, in your love.'In a statement by the Supreme President, Knights of St. John International, General Timothy Hoerst, they observed that the society at large has been faced with numerous and often devastating challenges, such as the global financial meltdown and Islamic fundamentalism.He added: 'We also condemn the continued display of religious intolerance in some countries for example, the Boko Haram insurgence in Nigeria. All these disasters have greatly influenced society's apprehension on our common wellbeing and security.'Also speaking at the convention, the leader of the Nigerian delegation and Supreme Subordinate President of Nigeria, Maj.-Gen. Ansalem Okafor, expressed regret that the activities of Boko Haram had presented Nigeria in bad light before the international community and has the tendency to create religious disharmony if not properly handled.He thereafter urged people not to get involved in any form of terrorist activities perpetrated in the name of religion; 'we encourage and develop the spirit of love of country and of its institutions and to extend to the whole world the spirit of good will.'Knights of St. John, a Catholic Fraternal Organisation whose primary objective is to promote a more generous and filial respect for the spiritual authority of the Church also aligned itself with the position of the Church with regard to same sex union, mercy killing, and birth control measures.According to Okafor, 'in the face of the moral liberalism that characterises our society today we recommitted ourselves to the venerable teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on the sacredness of the institution of marriage and the sanctity of human life.
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