PAKISTAN: Interfaith dialogue bearing fruit in Pakistan

A Christian leader in Pakistan has praised interfaith dialogue meetings for lifting tensions in the region – and even helping diffuse a blasphemy allegation. Different religious communities are living in greater harmony in Sindh Province in south-east Pakistan than in other regions, according to Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad. Bishop [...]

2023-07-05T12:32:33+02:00

MYANMAR: ACN calls for prayers for new bishop in Kayah state

International foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) calls for prayers on the occasion of the episcopal ordination, on 29 June, Feast of Sts Peter and Paul, of Mgr. Celso Ba Shwe as bishop of Loikaw, capital of the state of Kayah, in Myanmar. Kayah has a considerable Christian [...]

2023-06-28T13:55:40+02:00

“A growing culture of impunity”: ACN highlights disturbing trend in global persecution

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has released the latest edition of its Religious Freedom Report (RFR), which reveals that persecution has increased since January 2021, while impunity continues to be the rule when it comes to attackers, including oppressive governments. The RFR has been published by international Catholic [...]

2023-06-28T13:11:35+02:00

DRC: Church helping to end exploitation in war zone

The Church is supporting initiatives assisting miners dying of hunger in areas rich in natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) was told by the head of a Church-backed miners’ co-operative that destitute mining communities have been exploited – receiving very [...]

2023-06-28T12:43:04+02:00

UKRAINE: ACN’s record levels of aid for suffering Ukrainian people

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has revealed that its support for the Church in Ukraine – which has come to the aid of those devastated by the war last year. ACN released its 2022 annual accounts this week, which show that almost 10 percent of its aid went [...]

2023-06-21T13:43:05+02:00

NIGERIA: Catholics shocked by public admission of religious discrimination

In a video, the former governor of Kaduna state in Nigeria admits that his party benefits Muslim communities and does not need the Christian vote. Angered by this stance, Catholic priests have demanded that the current governor distance himself from his predecessor. Christians in Nigeria have expressed dismay and shock [...]

2023-06-21T13:32:39+02:00

ACN: Religious Freedom Report to be launched worldwide on 22 June

The Religious Freedom Report (RFR), produced by pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need, will be launched at a global level on 22 June. The report’s findings confirm that most of the world’s population lives in countries where religious freedom is severely restricted. Events are scheduled to take place [...]

2023-06-21T13:14:44+02:00

MOZAMBIQUE: Promoting interreligious dialogue in terrorist-plagued north

The Catholic Church has been playing a discrete but important role in dialogue that could effectively end the plague of terrorist violence in northern Mozambique. Father Eduardo Roca, a project partner of ACN, founded the Interreligious Centre for Peace, in the Diocese of Pemba, in 2017. That same year, terrorist [...]

2023-06-14T09:34:02+02:00

Indian Nun and Her Mother arrested over Anti-Conversion Allegations

An Indian nun and her mother have been arrested in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, following allegations of religious conversion, a violation of local anti-conversion laws. Sister Bibha Kerketta of the Daughters of St. Anne congregation, her mother, and three other individuals were taken into custody on June 6 [...]

2023-06-14T09:25:26+02:00

NIGERIA: Millions of Christians live in displacement camps

The world seems to ignore what is happening in Nigeria, where terrorist groups spread fear, destruction and death. This is just one of the biggest threats. Unfortunately, Christians are persecuted not only by jihadist groups that seek to establish a caliphate, that is to say a territory governed by a [...]

2023-06-14T08:54:28+02:00