For ACN, two sentiments predominate as ACN looks back on the past year; gratitude and concern. Looking back with gratitude to the year 2021, the executive president of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Dr Thomas Heine-Geldern, has released the following statement: “In 2021, the work [...]
In Uganda, the number of vocations is rising each year. According to Vatican statistics, every fifth seminarian worldwide now comes from Africa. The seminary for mature vocations in Kampala, Uganda, can now scarcely accommodate the many candidates who want to study for the priesthood. This was the report of the [...]
A statue of the Virgin Mary that had been desecrated by the Islamic State but was later restored has been returned to its original church. The statue was decapitated, and its hands cut off, in Karemlesh, a largely Christian town 18 miles east of Mosul, during the Islamic State's occupation [...]
Pope Francis dedicates his first prayer message of 2022 to combatting religious discrimination and persecution. He reminds us that religious freedom is not limited to freedom of worship; rather, it is tied to fraternity. Indicating fraternity as the path to follow, the Pope invites us to value other people’s differences [...]
Bishops in Jerusalem have warned that the existence of Christianity in the Holy Land is threatened by “a systematic attempt” to drive the community out. The Statement on the Current Threat to the Christian Presence in the Holy Land issued by the Patriarchs and heads of local Churches in Jerusalem [...]
Christianity in Nepal dates back to the 16th century and, until 1983, Nepal was part of various Indian dioceses. On the invitation of Nepalese kings, Capuchin priests arrived in Kathmandu Valley in 1715, evangelized and built churches. After the unification of Nepal as a Hindu kingdom, all Christians were expelled [...]
Bright and celebratory lights used to be a staple of Christmas decorations in Aleppo before the beginning of the Civil War, but the soaring price of electricity in the city makes such things seem like a luxury now. According to the Maronite Archbishop of Aleppo, Joseph Tobji, Christmas this year [...]
“My name is Majid. I now live with my family in Lebanon, but my father tells me that we are originally from Syria and that our real home is there.” This 12-year-old boy is one of the thousands of refugees who were forced to leave their country and seek refuge [...]
The economic situation in Lebanon, which has further worsened after the COVID-19 outbreak and the 2020 blast in the Port of Beirut, has plunged the Lebanese people into unprecedented poverty levels. More than three families out of four face food insecurity in the country. The Lebanese Lira has lost over [...]
The persecution of Christians by Muslim extremists in West Africa was discussed at a two-day conference in Burkina Faso recently. Nigerian Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe, of the diocese of Makurdi, called for dialogue with Muslims and the establishment of a Justice and Reconciliation Programme to promote peace and forgiveness. “Fury, [...]
