Working towards unification and harmony In the diocese of Sokoto in northern Nigeria, Bishop Matthew Kukah not only deals with the normal sacramental and pastoral concerns of any diocese. He also has to cope with the violence and regular attacks against the small Christian minority living in the mainly Muslim area. For many Christians...
Pope Francis rebukes Europe – ”Migrants are not criminals” Pope Francis urged top EU leaders – including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and the presidents of the European Parliament, Commission and Council – not to see migrants as criminals. Francis lamented that Europe had grown “weary, yet still rich...
COLOMBIA – Sisters overcome challenges to help indigenous poor people Four Sisters of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul have been working in the Colombian highlands since 1997. They provide health care for the indigenous population, visit families and teach children. The crime rate is high and the indigenous population is marginalized...
CHINA – Three Catholic priests gone missing In China three priests from the underground Catholic Church have disappeared recently under mysterious circumstances. In the diocese of Baoding in Hebei province Fr Yang Jianwei, the pastor of Anzhuan, disappeared on April 15. According to local sources, this happened in an area where driving tests take place....
Christian Iraqi children have lost everything except their belief in God Six hundred Christian children whose families fled from ISIS in 2014 have lost everything – their homes, schools, relatives and friends, and the stability of a normal life. There is one thing however that they hung on to and which continues to grow...
THE PHILIPPINES – Will Mindanao become another Iraq? “In some areas of Mindanao we are experiencing exactly the same thing as is happening in Iraq”. The words are those of Father Sebastiano D’Ambra an Italian missionary of the PIME congregation who has been working for almost 50 years now in the Philippines. He was...
Ordination of Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Homs Mor Theophilus Philip Barakat Last month the Pope gave his assent to the canonical election by the Synod of Bishops of the Patriarchal Church of Antioch of the Syrians of His Excellency as archbishop of Homs, in Syria. The diocese has 13,000 Catholics, 17 priests , 3...
It-Tieni Anniversarju tal-ACN f’Malta Nhar il-?img?a, 13 ta’ Mejju 2016, Festa tal-Madonna ta’ Fatima, Patruna tal-ACN, ja?bat g?eluq it-tieni anniversarju mit-twaqqif tal-Aid to the Church in Need (Malta). Nirringrazzjaw ’l Alla u lil Marija Omm il-Knisja, tal-qlub ?eneru?i li qed jie?du sehem bit-talb u fil-missjoni nobbli tag?ha u hekk ikunu ta’ soljiev spiritwali, morali...
ANGOLA – Church condemns corruption and human rights violations Although the Church is not “an opposition party”, it will not “remain silent in the face of grave violations of human rights” In a strongly-worded pastoral letter, the bishops of Angola—citing an alarming growth in poverty and a sharp rise in the cost of living in...
EU creates new position to address Religious Freedom issues worldwide The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has just created a new position specifically to address and tackle the growing restrictions on religious freedom internationally. The decision follows last February’s resolution on the systematic mass murder being committed by ISIS, in which the...
