Since 2013, the Central African Republic has suffered continued military violence, forcing people to flee their homes – more than 1 million have already fled. In December 2020, Aid To The Church In Need sent local journalist and cameraman, Gérard Ouambou, to speak with the priests and religious sisters who [...]
“The love of God sometimes follows paths one could never have imagined, but it always reaches those who are willing to be found.” So said Pope Benedict XVI at the 50th World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Henry Bukenya from Uganda is a good example of this. He was willing [...]
Egypt is home to the largest Christian community in the Arab world - the Coptic Church. Reaching back to the very beginnings of Christianity and to the Apostle Mark, there are today about 8 million Copts in Egypt. But in a politically deeply divided country with Islam as its state [...]
A series of kidnappings and acts of violence against priests and religious in Nigeria are of particular concern to Catholics in the country. For the first time in the history of the Catholic Church in Nigeria, a bishop - Bishop Moses Chikwe of the Archdiocese of Owerri - was kidnapped [...]
As the people of Ethiopia’s Tigray region continue to suffer at the heart of a violent conflict, with hundreds dead and thousands displaced, the situation threatens to escalate to a more serious refugee emergency and a region-wide crisis. Bishop Paul Swarbrick, who holds the Africa brief at the Bishops’ Conference [...]
“We are living here in a time of war that has already lasted three years. It began with an attack on the police station, then on the distant villages, passing through the larger villages until it reached the centre of the cities. Four cities have already been almost completely emptied. [...]
A Nigerian archbishop has asked for prayers for the safe release of a priest kidnapped in his Archdiocese of Abuja, the Country's Capital last week. Fr. Matthew Dajo was kidnapped on the night of Sunday 22nd November. Police are currently working to negotiate his release, the archdiocesan spokesman, Fr. Patrick [...]
Entitled, “Set Your Captives Free”, the report by the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need, lists specific cases of Christians detained mainly in Nigeria, Eritrea, Pakistan and China. It speaks about imprisonment for reasons of conscience, arbitrary detention, unjust trials, inadequate prison conditions, cases of torture and pressure [...]
Iraqi Christians are trying to face challenges with strength and hope as they continue to rebuild their lives after the Islamic State invaded in 2014, a Chaldean Catholic priest has said. “It’s a difficult place, but we are living with hope, with faith, with love for everyone, even if they [...]
Many communities all over the world are suffering such debilitating poverty that the faithful are not able to support their priests financially. In these places, Mass stipends are often the only source of income for priests. In 2019, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) supported more than 40,000 priests [...]
