BURKINA FASO: How Sisters are risking their lives everyday

Religious Sisters in Burkina Faso have told how they are risking their lives to provide food and sanctuary to hundreds of people – women, the elderly and children – fleeing the violence engulfing the country. Sister Pauline and Sister Marie Bernadette, current and former General Superior of the Sisters of [...]

2020-01-22T07:13:29+01:00

SOUTH SUDAN: Peace Declaration to take effect from today

The Republic of South Sudan and the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA) have signed a peace declaration in Rome that takes effect from today January 15. In peace talks in Rome facilitated by the Catholic community of Sant’Egidio, opposition groups and the South Sudanese government recommitted to cease hostilities, [...]

2020-01-16T15:13:12+01:00

CARDINAL TAGLE LEADS PRAYERS FOR PEACE AMID TENSION IN MIDDLE EAST

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila led thousands of devotees in prayers for peace as tensions mount between the United States and Iran following the assassination of a top Iranian general. A few days after Iran warned of retaliation for the January 3 US airstrike that killed General Qassem Soleimani, [...]

2020-01-16T12:13:45+01:00

TURKEY ARRESTS PRIEST WHO GAVE WATER AND BREAD TO KURDISH FIGHTERS

An Assyrian priest and two other Assyrian Christians were arrested Friday in Turkey and slapped with terror charges for allegedly offering bread and water to Kurdish militants who visited his monastery, according to reports. Priest Sefer Bileçen of the Mor Yakup Monastery in southeast Turkey was detained last Thursday, according [...]

2020-01-15T10:56:36+01:00

INVITATION: The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

On 10th February many Christians in Malta celebrate the Feast of the Shipwreck of St Paul, marking and giving thanks for the arrival of Christian faith on these islands. The reading from the Acts of the Apostles used for the feast is the text chosen for this year’s Week of [...]

2020-01-15T10:35:07+01:00

HINDUS OPPOSE PLANS FOR JESUS STATUE IN INDIA

Plans to build India’s largest statue of Jesus in the southern state of Karnataka have encountered heavy opposition from local Hindu nationalists. The state-level government, controlled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked for the suspension of construction until the ownership of the construction plot has been [...]

2020-01-15T10:21:29+01:00

Four seminarians abducted – Nigeria risks becoming a failed state

The Catholic pastoral charity and pontifical foundation ACN International has learned with dismay of the abduction of four young seminarians in Kaduna, Nigeria. According to local sources, the incident occurred on 8 January 2020 at the Good Shepherd seminary in the city of Kaduna in northern Nigeria. Shortly after 10.30 [...]

2020-01-16T10:40:41+01:00

EUROPE: Study Reveals about 3,000 Attacks on Christian Churches and Symbols in 2019

A study published earlier this year reveals about 3,000 attacks on churches, schools and Christian symbols in Europe over the past year. According to research conducted by the Gatestone Institute , the study center and international policy council, these attacks were particularly significant in France and Germany, but were also “common” in [...]

2020-01-08T08:26:30+01:00

NIGERIA: “It is difficult to preach peace in this context”

The beheading of 10 Christians by Islamist militants in Nigeria has sparked a condemnation by a bishop who accuses the government of using different methods to achieve the same goal of Islamic dominance. In the wake of the Christmas Day attack by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and an [...]

2020-01-08T07:25:43+01:00

19,000 Syrian Children received ACN Gifts of Faith last Christmas

THOUSANDS of Syrian children could afford to smile last Christmas thanks to Aid to the Church in Need’s Gifts of Faith– according to a Sister helping suffering Christians. In an audio-message to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), project partner Sister Annie Demerjian thanked the charity’s benefactors for supporting [...]

2020-01-08T09:27:27+01:00