Patrick Egwu

After the Vatican's Dec. 18 declaration permitting nonliturgical blessings of same-sex couples, several African bishops' conferences issued statements reiterating that the church still does not approve of gay marriage.

Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena minister in Gusau in Zamfara state, Nigeria. Amid growing attacks in the region from armed gangs, the sisters live in fear. But they take precautions and focus on prayer.

As access to coronavirus vaccines continues to be limited in Africa, Catholic officials across the continent are struggling to maintain prevention measures, fight misinformation and convince those who can to get themselves vaccinated.

The Vatican's recent decree banning Catholic priests from blessing same-sex marriages has stoked fear among the LGBT community in countries across Africa, where there is widespread discrimination and laws criminalizing same-sex activity.

In Nigeria, especially in the southeastern region, the Catholic Church can deny funeral rites over unpaid dues or levies. Having to get a clearance certificate stating there is no debt to the parish has been generating controversy for many years.

Simon Ayafa has witnessed oil pollution in the Niger Delta region since he was 15. Now, at 35, he feels the region has been made uninhabitable by decades of oil spills. A series of pipeline spills between 2008 and 2009 left the Niger Delta region flowing in oil, but recently, farmers won a landmark case against Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.

Nigeria has seen a rising, deadly conflict between farmers and cattle herders, who migrate south to land for grazing. Climate change has worsened the conflict. Thousands have been killed or displaced.

Southern Africa's Catholic community has been spurred into action by the global Black Lives Matter movement, with some local parishes hosting anti-bias workshops.

The coronavirus is spreading through African countries each day. Catholic communities are responding to the pandemic in varying degrees.

Oil industry pollution and deforestation are serious, Bishop Ernest Obodo told EarthBeat. But the migration of Nigeria's young, risking trafficking and death to escape poverty, is the local church's most pressing concern.

Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke was installed April 29 as bishop of the new Ekwulobia Diocese, after being rejected in the Ahiara Diocese during a yearslong crisis that engulfed the church in the region.

Christian and Muslim communities in Nigeria are collaborating to respond to and combat the growing coronavirus pandemic in the country in what has been described as a show of love and unity.

"The Church cannot and will not abandon you!" declares an archbishop as gatherings are shut down in South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana in an effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Different diocese in Nigeria, the first sub-Saharan African country to report cases of novel coronavirus, are taking varying actions to keep it from spreading via churches or worship services.

An international conference in Nigeria aimed to demystify the concept of witchcraft; it led to protests, controversy and division among many Christian Nigerians.

About 30,000 Nigerians overstayed their non-immigrant visa in the U.S. in 2018, making them the third largest defaulters behind Venezuelans and Brazilians. However, some analysts insist that the ban is a way of reducing the number of Nigerians coming to the U.S.

Two social media bills are generating debates in Nigeria. Opponents say the legislation is meant to suppress freedom of expression — to such an extent that one of the bills seeks the death penalty for offenders.

The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, resulted from a complex series of events, including ethno-religious killings. Fifty years later, the wounds have not healed — or in some cases, been acknowledged.

After a fire devastated markets in South East Nigeria, Catholics in the Onitsha Archdiocese stepped up to provide spiritual and financial relief to the victims, and help them rebuild their lives.

Ekene Odigwe, a popular presenter with Radio Nigeria, is one of Nigeria's leading young climate champions, advocating for positive action on his interactive weekly show, "Climate Time."