PAKISTAN: The faithful make a deliberate choice to live out their faith

Bishop Tom Neylon, Lead Bishop for Asia for the Bishops’ Conference, has recently returned from a week-long trip to Pakistan with  Aid to the Church in Need. Visiting from 9-16th March, Bishop Neylon visited a number of projects funded by the charity and met with the faithful, priests and bishops [...]

2023-05-03T12:51:29+02:00

BURKINA FASO: Jihadist terror forcing Christian women to wear burqas

Christian girls and women in Burkina Faso need to wear burqas to avoid attacks in the face of growing extremism, according to a priest in the country. Following an explosion of jihadist terror in 2015, extremist groups are still terrorising the Christian population, pressuring them to convert to Islam, Father [...]

2023-05-03T12:34:54+02:00

VENEZUELA: Despite difficulties, the Church is alive, united and joyful

“Venezuela has become a country of contradictions. Despite the economic and social crisis, there have been recent openings of casinos and luxury car dealerships”, says Luis Vildoso, head of projects for international foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), in the country. Following a trip, during which he visited [...]

2023-04-26T13:08:34+02:00

SYRIA: Kidnapped archbishops still missing, 10 years after

Ten years after two archbishops went missing, Churches across the Middle East have chosen the date of their abduction as a day to remember all the region’s abducted Christians. The formal announcement was made on 24th April, at an event held by the Middle East Council of Churches to mark [...]

2023-04-26T12:25:13+02:00

More martyrs now than in early days of Church, recalls Pope

"Today. Today there are persecutions of Christians throughout the world -- many, many. There are more martyrs today than in the first times. Many." Pope Francis is dedicating his weekly Wednesday catechesis to the theme of sharing the Good News of Christ and on  April 19, he reflected on those [...]

2023-04-26T14:24:40+02:00

BRAZIL: An adventure of faith in the Amazon Forest

Friar Paolo Maria Braghini was returning to his mission one afternoon, after having gone to buy supplies in the city, when a cloud began to obscure the beautiful blue sky above the Amazon rainforest. A strong storm quickly followed. With limited visibility, a large passing vessel didn’t even see Friar [...]

2023-04-24T10:02:22+02:00

POPE FRANCIS: Remember the suffering people of Yemen

Pope Francis continues his series of catecheses on apostolic zeal and speaks of the Church's many martyrs, praying especially for those working in Yemen, dominated by war for so many years. Addressing the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square for his weekly General Audience, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on [...]

2023-04-24T10:02:23+02:00

NIGERIA: “Easter reminds us that even in the face of violence and persecution, love and compassion can triumph”

Despite challenges posed by terrorists and other oppressors on the people of God in the West African nation of Nigeria, Nigerians can still reclaim their country, the Catholic Archbishop of Nigeria’s Abuja Archdiocese has said. In his Easter 2023 Message that he published on his Facebook page Easter Sunday, April [...]

2023-04-24T10:02:23+02:00

RWANDA’s calvary points the way to resurrection

A Rwandan priest ministering to prisoners convicted of genocide has said that the mystery of Good Friday speaks to the immense suffering endured by the Tutsis people. With the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda falling on Good Friday this year (7th April), Father [...]

2023-04-24T10:02:23+02:00

IRAQ: “This hope is still in our hearts, and we live with it”

Twenty years after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Christians in Iraq continue to fight for their right to be treated as equal citizens and to live their faith free from persecution. The visit of Pope Francis was a sign of hope in this quest. Christians once lived in peace and security [...]

2023-04-24T10:02:23+02:00