ETHIOPIA - Religious leaders call for peace after recent violence After witnessing the violence which occurred as a result of on-going protests, religious leaders in Ethiopia have joined together to plead for peace. A joint statement issued by the Inter-religious Council of Ethiopia said:“We the religious leaders of Ethiopia firmly believe that [...]
ALBANIA - 38 martyrs murdered during the communist dictatorship beatified Bishop Massafra of Shkodër: “They were tortured to death. They always remained loyal to Christ and the church”During the 40 years of communist dictatorship in Albania, praying, making the sign of the cross, wearing a cross around the neck or just believing [...]
SYRIA - United Nations: Violations constitute war crimes Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, declared that the siege and bombardment of eastern Aleppo in Syria constitute crimes of historic proportions. He said the relentless bombardment of the ancient city of Aleppo has turned it into a slaughterhouse. Over [...]
IRAQ - First Mass in Qaraqosh since it was liberated from IS Although Qaraqosh was liberated by the Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU) and Iraqi military about twelve days ago, its former citizens are unable to return. Sporadic gunfire is still going on and the town has not yet been cleared of [...]
ISRAEL - Basilica of the Transfiguration vandalised in latest attack on Christians The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has condemned the recent acts of vandalism against the Church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor in the Holy Land. Vandals entered the church and stole a chalice "after removing all the hosts that were [...]
SWEDEN - Highlights of Pope’s visit to promote Christian unity Although the formal occasion for the Pope’s visit to largely Lutheran Sweden was to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the theme and underlying reason for the trip was to promote ecumenism and unity among Christians.Before setting off, the Pope [...]
IRAQ - “The Virgin saved us” – Christian students hid from IS under the bed Christian students who fled from Kirkuk (Iraq) when it was recently attacked by Islamic State militants relate the moving details of their escape. One said "Every night during the past year I had nightmares about the possibility [...]
Pope Francis will visit Milan and Genoa in 2017 The Holy See Press Office confirmed that Pope Francis will visit two prominent northern Italian cities in 2017.First, on March 25, the Pope will visit Milan. Cardinal Scola, Archbishop of Milan, announced the Pope’s visit saying: “this is a sign of the [...]
SYRIA - “The world needs a revolution against violence” - interview with Fr Jacques Mourad This Syrian monk was kept hostage by IS for five months – but still speaks out for reconciliation Father Jacques Mourad belongs to the Syrian order “Mar Mousa al-habashi” (“Saint Moses of Abyssinia”). He was prior of [...]
CONGO - Interview – “Mystery of faith in a broken land” Between 16t - 29August 2016 a delegation from the international Catholic Charity Aid to the Church in Need travelled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The reason of the trip was to see what were the most urgent needs in [...]