SYRIA Bishop miraculously avoids death as bomb lands in his bedroom A bishop narrowly avoided death when a bomb landed on his bed during a bombardment of Syria’s capital Damascus. Maronite Archbishop Samir Nassar’s life was only saved because he interrupted his afternoon nap to use the bathroom In [...]
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Police attack congregation with tear gas during Mass As protests against the continued rule of President Joseph Kabila intensified, police invaded Catholic churches and fired tear gas during Mass on Sunday 7 Jan. One witness at St Michael’s Church in central Kinshasa said police disrupted [...]
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO "The world knows what is happening, but is keeping quiet" On 31 December 2017, a march organized to protest against the continuing leadership of Joseph Kabila as president of the country turned into a riot. The result was a dozen or so deaths and [...]
NIGERIA Six Sisters and a doctor who had been abducted are released following the operation, three Sisters and three novices of the congregation Eucharistic Heart of Jesus were rescued after 53 days of captivity. According to local media, one of the sisters, Veronica Ajayi, was released at 6 pm [...]
Pope Francis sends message to Chile and Peru ahead of his visit Pope Francis sent a video message to the people of Chile and Peru in advance of his January 15-22, 2018, apostolic visit. “I will visit you as a pilgrim of the joy of the Gospel” Pope Francis [...]
IRAQ: Hundreds of Christians celebrate the feast of St Behnam in ruins of monastery destroyed by ISIS Hundreds of Iraqi Christians took part in the celebrations for the feast of the martyrs St. Behnam and his sister Sarah in the monastery where the relics of the saint are kept. The sanctuary, a [...]
PHILIPPINES "My destroyed cathedral can wait… We must first rebuild inter-faith relations" A Bishop in the Philippines, whose cathedral and the home was destroyed by extremists, has stated that his top priority is to rebuild inter-faith relations and bring healing to his traumatised people. Bishop de la Peña said he [...]
SRI LANKA “Fundamentalists see Christianity as a threat” Bishop Noel Emmanuel of the Trincomalee diocese in eastern Sri Lanka has visited the international offices of the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in Germany. In May 2009 the end of a 25-year civil war in Sri [...]
PERU Improving living conditions is not only a question of economics The evangelisation of the suburbs has priority in Peru, says Marco Mencaglia, head of the Peruvian section of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need. He was interviewed by Amélie Berthelin - de La Hougue on [...]
Patriarch Younan’s New Year message appeals for peace and security for Iraqi and Syrian Christians In his New Year message, Ignatius Youssef III Younan Patriarch of Antioch for Syriac Catholic Church emphasises the importance of praying for peace. He issues a passionate appeal to the western world for economic sanctions [...]
