CHINA “The communists are afraid of Our Lady of Fatima”  Retired Bishop of Hong Kong comments on the situation of the church in China   Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun was a guest of Aid to the Church in Need Germany at the Day of Encounters that was held at the German [...]

SYRIA  - Sign of hope as Aleppo is consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima The war ravaged city of Aleppo saw a ray of hope this month with a consecration to Our Lady of Fatima on 13 May. The consecration of Aleppo took place on the 100th anniversary of the [...]

INDIA Demolished cross sparks outrage among Catholics   Th archdiocese of Mumbai is taking legal action following the demolition of a 122 year-old cross in a suburb of Mumbai late last month. Local civic officers had demolished the cross, inciting an angry response from the Catholic community. A makeshift cross was [...]

"The Church is the family of God" – interview with Cardinal Robert Sarah about the Church in Africa   In an interview with the international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Cardinal Robert Sarah speaks about the contribution [...]

NIGERIA - What will happen to recently freed Chibok girls? The Nigerian government last week announced the release of 82 girls, who were among the 300 abducted from the high school in Chibok in April 2014. The mass abduction by the militant Islamist group drew international outcry that adopted the [...]

IRAQ -  ACN's "Olive Tree Ceremony" marks beginning of  reconstruction project   Last week the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need consecrated three building sites in the villages of Bartella, Karemlash and Baghdeda (Qaraqosh) for the reconstruction of the first 105 houses belonging to internally displaced Christian families. [...]

SOUTH SUDAN - “The Church is the only functioning institution”   A United Nations report released In March said South Sudan is experiencing ethnic cleansing by mostly government forces and described the country as teetering on the edge of genocide. Nothing has changed since then and the situation continues to [...]

SYRIA What has the war brought but suffering and tears? Syrians only want peace!   A woman weeps. Wrapped in a sheet on which is written in Arabic the word “Syria”, the woman, who is pregnant, sheds tears which run down over her abdomen, within which are two babies fighting [...]

NORTH KOREA “Witness to the persecution of Christians”   - priest relates his experiences As you know, for the past 60 years and more the « Land of the Morning Calm » has been cut in two, following a particularly bloody fratricidal war… Earlier, I was able to travel to North Korea and, [...]

CHINA Will proposed Vatican-China agreement cause problems?   An agreement is being discussed between the Vatican and China regarding the appointing of bishops. Hong Kong’s current archbishop, Cardinal John Tong Hon,  has expressed hope that it will come about.  Tong defended the new proposal, saying that the Chinese government must [...]