While many Catholic leaders in Nigeria are concerned about the influence of Pentecostalism, Catholics in the southeastern parts of the country are concerned about another trend.
In rural parts of the West African country, the number of young people participating in Sunday Mass has plummeted and continues to fall as many of them turn to paganism.
Father Vitalis Anaehobi serves in the region and said that most of the young people he has spoken to are grieved by “difficulties in life” such as poverty, unemployment, and “the failure by the Church to protect them” as attacks against Christians continue in the country where religious-based persecution is one of the highest in the world.