Two weeks after the M23 armed group attacked the city of Goma, there is still fighting in the province of North Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, leading to a worsening of the humanitarian conditions in the region. A missionary in the country tells ACN that [...]
Armed rebels are fighting to take control of the eastern Congo’s largest city, prompting a Church leader to appeal for help to alleviate the suffering. Bishop Willy Ngumbi Ngengele of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – where violent clashes have been intensifying – wrote in a statement [...]
Religious Sisters have helped give hope and an education to young girls living on the streets of Nairobi who are at risk of exploitation and facing a grim future. The Assumption Sisters of Eldoret “bond with” vulnerable girls, “visit them three days a week” and “work with their mothers as [...]
Father Júnior Vásquez suffered a very serious leg injury a few years ago, due to the bad condition of his car. Now, with a new vehicle donated by ACN, he can reach even the remotest areas more easily. Fr Júnior Vásquez spends over six hours per day on the road. [...]
Christians from across the world celebrated the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which lasted until Saturday, 25th January 2025. In Malta, the Jubilee with Christian brethren from other Churches was celebrated a day earlier, during the customary Diocesan Ecumenical Service. Archbishop Charles Scicluna led the celebration, while the homily [...]
With 54 years of service in a rural parish in the Diocese of Guaranda, Ecuador, Salesian Fr Antonio Polo has changed the region through his pastoral and spiritual labours, but also, with the help of the local population, through business ventures such as the development of Salinerito Cheese. When Fr [...]
The situation for Christians in Syria varies from city to city, according to local sources, and Christians have greeted with cautious optimism the transitional Government’s guarantees to respect religious freedom. Christian leaders in Syria have expressed their willingness to work with the provisional government, following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s [...]
Due to the massive destruction in the Bekaa Valley and in southern Lebanon, ACN emergency relief projects remain very significant for the country. “With the appointment of a new president hope returned to Lebanon,” reports Marielle Boutros, Project Coordinator of the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need [...]
The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is calling for a 24-hour Global Day of Prayer for peace in Myanmar, which will be celebrated on 1 February. On this date, which marks an important anniversary in the country's recent history, the foundation's headquarters and 23 national offices [...]
The number of priests and religious kidnapped increased in 2024, while the numbers arrested for reasons of persecution diminished. In total, ACN registered 121 cases impacting priests and religious, including 13 murders, 37 kidnappings and 71 held under arrest. Ten of these incidents involved women, eight of whom were kidnapped [...]
