IRAQ Church leaders worried about the consequences for Christians after Kurdish referendum   Since the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly in favour of separation from Iraq last week, tension has been increasing in Iraq. The referendum decision will initiate a process of negotiation between Iraq and [...]

NIGERIA Bishops demand compensation and help for Boko Haram victims Bishops in north-west Nigeria are demanding compensation from the government for property destroyed by Islamic militants. Mgr Matthew Man-oso Ndagoso, Archbishop of Kaduna, has accused the Nigerian government of not helping the Christian victims of Boko Haram. He said: "In [...]

MYANMAR “Healing the Country, Moving Forward  in Peace” – statement by cardinal Bo   Dear Fellow Citizens and International Community,  Greetings.  The recent sad tragic events in our country affecting thousands of  Muslims, Rakhines and Hindus and others have brought the concerned attention of the world.  The trigger to violence [...]

HOLY LAND Church of Saint Stephen desecrated   The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has condemned the desecration of the Church of St. Stephen by unknown perpetrators. The church is located within the convent of Bet Jemal in western Jerusalem.The patriarch said that on September 20, rioters had broken open the [...]

“Back to the Roots” –  ACN’s Iraq reconstruction project officially launched at Rome conference   “Facilitate the return and guarantee the protection”. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin calls for the respect of the rights of Christians in Iraq. The Cardinal was speaking at a conference organised by the Pontifical [...]

Rosary for Peace and Unity   A million children around the world, including Maltese and Gozitan children, will pray the Rosary on Wednesday, 18 October 2017   Once again the international Pontifical charity foundation, Aid to Church in Need (ACN), is inviting all Maltese children to join children from all [...]

Gozitan missionary Fr Gorg Grima dies aged 67   Fr Gorg Grima, founder of the Ġesù fil-Proxxmu missionary movement, died on Monday 25 September, aged 67. He had recently undergone heart bypass surgery at Mater Dei Hospital. His funeral will take place on Thursday at 5pm at the St George [...]

IRAQ Celebrations mark return of Iraqi Christians to Nineveh   About 500 Christian families – up to 2,500 people – celebrated their long-awaited homecoming to Iraq’s Nineveh Plains with ceremonies marking a fresh start in their old towns and villages. In Qaraqosh (Baghdeda), the largest of Nineveh’s Christian towns, priests [...]

BULGARIA "This shrine is a beating heart"   At the newly created Marian Shrine of Pleven, the Catholics in Bulgaria are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Fatima. The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need had supported the construction of the church. On 1 July the [...]

Aleppo is coming back to life   Parts of Aleppo are coming back to life with people returning in large numbers to the bomb-blasted city and streets once again are humming with traffic and people. Aid to the Church in Need’s Middle East projects coordinator Father Andrzej Halemba revealed how [...]