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India in the grip of COVID-19: ‘It is only our faith that keeps us going’

TO HELP THE CHURCH IN INDIA COPE WITH COVID-19, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has been supporting 27 projects  to support priests and sisters in India. These consist of subsistence aid and Mass stipends to help them to continue their work during the pandemic. In early May, India [...]

2021-05-05T10:08:34+02:00

SOUTH SUDAN: Wounded priest in Rumbek is an example of commitment

Provincial of Juba: "The charism of the Comboni Missionaries is to be in the front line and serve those most vulnerable even in situations of danger." “The most important thing now is the complete healing of Father Christian, both physically and spiritually. He is very serene, he is very peaceful”, [...]

2021-04-28T12:41:15+02:00

SYRIA: Churches pray on anniversary of bishops’ abduction

Eight years after two bishops were kidnapped by Islamist extremists in Syria, the country’s Christians renewed prayers for their return. Members of the country’s Churches gathered for a service in Aleppo’s Syriac Orthodox Cathedral yesterday (Thursday 22nd April), to mark the anniversary of the abduction of Syriac Orthodox Bishop Youhanna Ibrahim [...]

2021-04-28T12:37:08+02:00

ETHIOPIA: ‘The people are traumatised’

Hundreds lie dead in Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region according to a secret inside account, which described priests beaten up, churches ransacked, and “rampant” hunger and fear gripping the populace who have no medicine left. Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the priest, unnamed for security reasons, described [...]

2021-04-28T12:34:42+02:00

NIGERIA: A wall to protect the seminarians

One year ago the Requiem Mass for Michael Nnadi began with Psalm 50 (51). He had been abducted, along with three other seminarians, from the Good Shepherd Seminary in Kaduna, central-northern Nigeria. That was in January 2020, shortly after the seminarians had returned to the seminary after celebrating Christmas with [...]

2021-04-14T14:40:02+02:00

Haiti: Abductions of clergy and religious on the increase

Following the abduction of the priests and religious in Haiti on Sunday, other Catholic clergy and religious are now fearful of becoming victims themselves. This was the comment made on Monday by Catholic Bishop Jean Désinord of the diocese of Hinche, some 70 miles (112 km) north of the capital [...]

2021-04-14T13:57:25+02:00

DRC: Bishops warn of new Islamisation threat

The bishops of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have condemned rebel violence in the east of the country, highlighting attempted Islamisation, the forced conversion of prisoners and the deaths of thousands – including children. In a statement received by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), members of [...]

2021-04-14T13:44:30+02:00

INDIA: Religious Sister faces conversion charges

A Religious Sister in India was arrested after she was charged under provisions of a new law that criminalizes religious conversion. Sister Bhagya (who uses only her first name) of the Sisters of the Destitute congregation and principal of Sacred Heart Convent High School in Khajuraho in the Chhatarpur district, [...]

2021-04-14T13:31:59+02:00

PAKISTAN: Christian families face destruction of their homes

Recently, the houses of 450 catholic families in Hyderabad and Karachi in Pakistan were destroyed as part of an anti-encroachment drive—targeting homes considered to be illegal settlements—by Sindh provincial government. The decision to clean up the sludge from three city water drains was taken last year after severe urban flooding. [...]

2021-04-14T13:25:37+02:00

Launch of the 15th Edition of ACN’s Religious Freedom in the World Report

On 29th April, Aid to the Church in Need (Malta) will present the 15th edition of the “Religious Freedom in the World Report” (RFR). It is the only study conducted by a Catholic institution which analyses the observance and respect of this human right in all countries of the world (196) and covers [...]

2021-04-21T21:04:37+02:00