Fear has gripped a Nigerian priest in Germany who has been forced to leave his parish over concern for his safety after his car and house were attacked and he received a death threat.
Catholic officials in Germany say the priest, Patrick Asomugha, who is the head of a parish in Queidersbach, a small municipality in western Germany, will vacate his post this week.
“Concerns for the safety and wellbeing of pastor Asomugha makes this step unavoidable,” Andreas Sturm, vicar general for the Speyer diocese’s bishop, captured in a statement. “It would be irresponsible to continue exposing pastor Asomugha to the threat.”
Father Asomugha, has been head of the parish in Queidersbach since 2017 but his growing worries started last year after his parish house was broken into by unknown persons.
He subsequently faced racist remarks during church services. According to reports from local media, parents last June were overheard saying: “I won’t let my child be baptized by a black man.”
“I’m not taking anything from those dirty black hands.”
“The attack against me have made it almost impossible to lead a normal parish life in Queidersbach,” Asomugha said in a statement.
Church officials say that he had earlier called for peace among people in the community in the wake of racist attacks. Last October, his church even held a “solidarity mass” over these concerns to drum home the need for unity. Nevertheless, the attacks continued.
“Under these circumstances, I can no longer fulfil my duties as a pastor in Queidersbach,” Asomugha said in a statement.
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