ARMENIA – “We Armenians, no matter whether Catholic or Orthodox, love the Pope” The Armenian Catholic church is expecting Pope Francis in Armenia at the end of June – Aid to the Church in Need is helping it prepare Expectations in Armenia are high preceding the visit of Pope Francis to the country. “The Holy...
SYRIA – Patriarch Younan: the West is complicit in genocide The Patriarch of Antioch and the Syrian Catholic Church, Ignace Youssif III Younan, had some harsh words to say about Western countries whom he accuses of inciting violence in the Middle East: “The West is stoking the catastrophic tragedies unfolding before our eyes. We have...
IRAQ – Sako –Message to Muslims during Ramadan Below is the letter of Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako, Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon, to Muslims on the month of Ramadan. The text has been provided by the Patriarchate: Sisters and Brothers, We as a Church wish you a “Ramadan – Fasting” and bind our wishes with...
VATICAN – Committee appointed to distribute money collected for Ukraine The Vatican announced that a committee has been appointed that will be responsible for the distribution of the funds gathered in the Pope’s recent special collection for Ukraine. The Holy See press office announced: “As is known, following the tragic hostilities in the east of...
MEXICO – Bishop appeals for end to violence and murders Bishop José de Jesús Martínez Zepeda of Irapuato is appealing for peace in Mexico after years of shockingly high murder rates. According to Mexico’s National Institute for Statistics and Geography, between 2007 and 2014 there were 164,345 homicides in the country. The period covers some...
MALI – Interview with Father Germain Arama Father Germain was interviewed when he visited ACN Head Office in Königstein on Thursday, 21 April 2016. He was born in Mopti, in central Mali, studied at the seminary in Bamako, and is now the diocesan bursar of the diocese of Mopti, which serves a region of around...
IRAQ – Refugee children make First Communion in Erbil camp There is a moment of joy in the bleakness of life for displaced Iraqi Christians. A record number of refugee children are making their First Communion in a refugee camp in Erbil. Out of the 5,500 people living in Erbil’s Aishty 2 camp for the...
“We can not remain silent” Interview with Karin Maria Fenbert, CEO of ACN , by Tobias Lehner about the initiative to end discrimination against Christian refugees in Germany Christian relief and human rights organizations including ACN have launched a much-publicized appeal highlighting the worrying situation in German refugee camps. Christians and other religious...
Pope plans historic visit to Sweden in October It has just been announced that Pope Francis will visit Sweden to participate in events on the 31st of October for the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The full programme of the trip has not been finalised but according to Vatican spokesman, Jesuit...
HOLY LAND – “A toxic mix of religious extremism and nationalism” Many Christians in Israel are scared. They feel threatened by Jewish extremists in word and deed. The arson attack carried out by Jewish extremists in June of last year on the Benedictine monastery of Tabgha made international news. “What comes next?” Auxiliary Bishop Shomali...
