The International Society for Civil Rights and Rule of Law, also known as Intersociety, has spoken out against Nigeria being left out of Pope Leo’s visit to some African countries.

The group called the development a major mistake.

In a statement, Intersociety said they were sad that the visit did not include the “Super Catholic/Christian States: Congo DRC, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya.”

The statement was signed by Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Head of the Department of Civil Liberties and Rule of Law; Engr. Ekene Bede Umeagu, Head of the Department of International Freedom of Religion and Worship; and Chidinma Evangeline Udegbunam, Head of the Department of Campaign and Publicity.

It said that the development brings to light other important missing points and changes, such as “demanding the appointment of four Cardinal-Electors for Uganda and Kenya (two each), two each for Cameroon, Angola, and Tanzania; and three each for Congo DRC and Nigeria to encourage, strengthen, and save Africa’s largest but severely threatened Catholicism and Christianity.”

The rights group said they hoped that Pope Leo’s message of world peace would not mean “peace of the Christian graveyard, Jews, and other peaceful religions and religious minorities, especially in the hands of global Islamic Jihadists who have promised to keep targeting Christians and Jews until they convert or are hacked to death.”

It stressed that “more concrete reforms are very strongly and urgently needed to strategically and strongly reposition the Mother Church as the common umbrella and ‘General Overseer of the global Christendom.'”

“Charity Must Begin at Home Reforms” are some of the changes that need to be made. For example, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, needs to sit up or resign, just like Archbishop Claudio Dalla Zuanna of Mozambique’s Archdiocese of Beira did on April 10, 2026, and Archbishop Pascalis Bruno Sukur did when he turned down an early 2026 appointment by Pope Leo XIV as a cardinal and chose to stay in his role as Bishop of Bogor in Indonesia.

“Exclusion of Africa’s Five Super Catholic States from Pope’s Maiden Visit: We have noticed a major flaw in the Holy Father’s African visit, which only included Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. It did not include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, which together have an estimated 141 million Catholics, as well as Ethiopia, Africa’s third largest Christian state with 77 million.

“Out of the four countries that were chosen for the pope’s visit, only Angola has a large Catholic population of about 10 million, compared to 9 million in Cameroon and 1.4 million in Equatorial Guinea.

“Our careful study of the current patterns and trends of genocidal attacks by Islamic jihadists against Christians in Africa has clearly indicated that except Cameroon, Catholics and general Christian population face less jihadist threats and attacks in Angola and Equatorial Guinea than the five major Catholic countries of Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya and allied others like Ethiopia.

Based on the records we have, there are only 4,200 Catholics in Algeria, which has a Cardinal, out of an estimated 100,000 Christians in the country. Algeria is the largest landmass country in Africa, covering 2.382 million square kilometers.

“Algeria is only consoled and included in the papal visit because it is the birthplace of Saint Augustine, a biblical figure.

“We don’t hold any grudges against the four African countries that were chosen, but the Pope should have gone to the five African countries that are most threatened and attacked.”

The five African Super Catholic States that were affected were Congo DRC (with an estimated 55 million Catholics and 115 million Christians), Nigeria (with 30 million to 35 million Catholics and 113 million Christians), Tanzania (with 19 million Catholics and 31 million Christians), Uganda (with 18 million Catholics and 30 million Christians), and Kenya (with 18 million Catholics and 40 million Christians). This adds up to 141 million Catholics and 329 million Christians. Ethiopia, which is one of Africa’s oldest Christian countries, also has an estimated 77 million Christians.

These six African countries should have been scheduled as “First Among Equals” on Pope Leo XIV’s first visit to Africa. This is especially true because the Holy Father’s visit is very important and needed to encourage and strengthen the Christian faith in dangerous places like Nigeria, Congo DRC, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. If extreme care is not taken, their large Catholic and other Christian populations will be wiped out by local Islamic jihadists linked to ISIS and ISIL in the next 50 to 100 years. Their future generations will not have any traces of Christianity or Christian names in their family trees.

“Another important point that was missing was the uneven appointment of Catholic Cardinals in Africa, especially in countries with a lot of Catholics. These countries have been having trouble because they don’t have enough “Cardinal-Electors,” or people under 80 who can vote in papal conclaves and other cardinal decisions.

“We hereby call for the appointment of two new Cardinal-Electors for Nigeria, specifically to be appointed from the country’s North-East, especially among Catholic Dioceses in Taraba State, as well as from among Catholic Dioceses in Benue State.

“Based on what we’ve found recently, there are very brave and strong Catholic Bishops in the area who have stood their ground against the attacks of the Jihadist Fulani and their allies Boko Haram and Fulani Bandits. These attacks have killed thousands of members of their Catholic Faith and destroyed hundreds of churches, especially since 2015.

Bishop Anagbe was killed in March 2025 for speaking out against the US. Fulani Jihadists burned down his village and killed dozens of his family members. In Wukari Diocese, more than 90,000 Catholics have had to flee, and hundreds have been killed. Dozens of church parishes have been burned down or looted from 2024 until this date of April 2026. The same thing has happened in Makurdi Diocese, where hundreds have been killed and dozens of parishes have been burned down or looted.

“There are 60 Catholic dioceses in Nigeria, 59 of which are full-fledged and one is a suffragan. The suffragan is in Ibadan, Oyo State. 27 of the dioceses are currently dying and 17 are only 17 inches away from being empty.”

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Pope Francis’s remains will be transported to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., the Vatican announced on Tuesday (0700 GMT).

According to a Vatican statement, the pontiff’s remains are now resting in a coffin in the chapel of the Santa Marta home, where he resided for the duration of his 12-year pontificate.

The pope suffered from pneumonia and a stroke before passing away from a stroke at the age of 88, the Vatican revealed on Monday.

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According to the Vatican, the clergyman was hospitalized for five weeks earlier this year due to double pneumonia. He said that after having a stroke, he went into a coma and eventually suffered from “irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.”

Leaders from all around the world will attend his funeral, which is being planned by cardinals on Tuesday in advance of a conclave next month to choose a new head of the Roman Catholic Church.

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