The kidnappings of Catholic priests and others in Nigeria must end, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja said this week.

He spoke during his visit to a church whose priest was abducted and released just weeks before Christmas. Kaigama had repeatedly appealed for prayers for the safe release of Father Matthew Dajo and for others also held captive.

“We thank God that despite his travails in the hands of his abductors, he remains generally well, apart from the psychological trauma he still suffers,” the archbishop told the church congregation in a Jan. 10 homily at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in the town of Yangogi in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory.