“We have lost an advocate on Earth, but gained one in Heaven”   The Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is deeply touched by the death of Joachim Cardinal Meisner. ACN mourns a highly valued friend. The retired Archbishop of Cologne died unexpectedly on 5 July at [...]

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Catholic Church targeted for trying to restore peace   Cardinal Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo,  has told the pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need that he thought the Church was being targeted “in order to sabotage her mission [...]

UKRAINE Papal envoy brings message of peace and prosperity   Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches said “I have come with a message and good wishes of peace and prosperity for this country,” when he visited Ukraine as papal envoy last week. Cardinal Sandri arrived [...]

SOUTH SUDAN “Without peace everything is difficult” says Cardinal Turkson   ‘This country has all the potential necessary,’ says Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, but  “without peace one can do nothing.”  For a long time the Holy See has tried to find a way [...]

PHILIPPINES Bishops call for end to hostilities and inter-faith dialogue in Marawi   The bishops of the Philippines have issued a joint statement, calling for an end to hostilities and inter-faith dialogue in Marawi so that life there can return to normal. “Turn from Evil and Do Good, Seek Peace [...]

IRAQ - Islamic State used a Christian church as a prison for slaves   An Iraqi official revealed that terrorists from the Islamic State (ISIS) used a Syrian-Orthodox church in Mosul in northern Iraq, as a prison for a large number of Yazidi women who were used as sex slaves. When [...]

PHILIPPINES - Terrorists desecrate Eucharist and destroy Catholic chapel     Members of a terrorist group destroyed a Catholic chapel during a nine-hour long attack on the town of Malagakit in southern Philippines. The militants used hammers to destroy religious icons and vital fixtures. They also desecrated consecrated hosts. The 21 [...]

SYRIA - Six months of tense peace in Aleppo   At the end of December 2016 the forces allied to President Bashar al Assad took definitive control of the city of Aleppo. Just six months have passed since the bombings ceased in this great northern city of Syria, the largest [...]