UNITED NATIONS -Church is contributing directly to Peace-Building in Africa The Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, addressed the UN Security Council during an open debate on Peacebuilding in Africa in New York.Here is the text of his speech:My delegation wishes to thank Japan’s [...]
SOUTH AMERICA ACN helps missionary Sisters working in remote regions All over South America, small groups of brave Sisters are risking everything to reach out to and serve small, isolated and often very poor communities in remote areas. Enduring extreme heat, cold and weather conditions - sometimes putting their lives at [...]
SOUTH SUDAN - Pope sends special envoy to pursue peace Pope Francis has sent the Ghanaian president of the Pontifical Council, Cardinal Peter Turkson, as his special envoy to pursue peace in war-torn South Sudan. His mission is to urge for an end to violence in South Sudan and to help establish dialogue [...]
RUSSIA - Christians fear new laws will end religious freedom Christians in Russia have just been banned from discussing their faith outside of churches and other designated places under new anti-terror laws that came into effect this week. It is now illegal to preach, teach or even share your faith in private [...]
Pope sets off to Poland to inaugurate World Youth Day 2016 Before heading off for Poland, Pope Francis went to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to pray for the success of his 15th Apostolic Visit abroad to Poland. He invoked the Virgin Mary’s protection on his travels and upon the people he will visit [...]
World Youth day participants visit Auschwitz Although gatherings of young people are often characterized by excitement, exuberance and the likes, the story is different for pilgrims of the 31st World Youth Day going on in Krakow, Poland. Every day, since the beginning of the WYD activities, up to 30,000 WYD participants [...]
Thousands worldwide pay tribute to murdered priest On Monday morning two young men burst into Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray church during mass carrying fake bombs and a handgun and took Father Hamel, three nuns and two churchgoers as hostage. The alarm was raised after one of the nuns escaped but sadly Fr Hamel was [...]
Message from Pope Francis ahead of visit to WYD in Poland – Vatican Radio Ahead of Pope Francis’ 15th Apostolic Visit abroad and his first trip to Poland, July 27-31, the Pope has sent a video-message to all the young people gathered in Krakow for World Youth Day and to all [...]
PAKISTAN - Christian man charged with blasphemy 'for insulting Muhammad' in Whatsapp poem A Christian man, Nadeem Masihm, is on the run in Pakistan after he was charged with blasphemy for allegedly sending his Muslim friend an offensive poem on WhatsApp. The friend accused Nadeem of insulting Islam, claiming the poem was derogatory [...]
SYRIA - Rebuilding Homs cathedral brings new hope after siege ends The Melkite Catholic Cathedral of Homs is dedicated to Our Lady of Peace. However, in the course of Syria‘s bloody civil war it has suffered the same fate as more than 200 other Christian churches and been extensively damaged, not [...]