Killings and kidnapping of priests, the religious and other pastoral workers especially in West Africa, seem to be on the increase. Although it is worth bearing in mind that by far the majority of victims in killings and kidnappings are ordinary innocent persons, crimes targeting religious pastoral workers seem to be on the rise, in...
Seventy years ago, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) initiated the campaign “A vehicle for God”. So-called “rucksack priests” were given vehicles so that they could dispense pastoral care to the displaced Catholics of the German diaspora after World War II. “I give religious instruction at seven schools and regularly celebrate Holy Mass in...
15th March 2019 marks the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Syria. The war in Syria has unleashed the greatest humanitarian catastrophe since the Second World War, with some 12 million refugees and internally displaced. Meanwhile, Christians in Syria now represent just 3% of the population, whereas before the war they were...
“In this time of legal darkness, there has been added a literal darkness” The political and economic crisis that is ravaging Venezuela has become even worse in recent days as a result of the electricity blackout that has affected the whole country, 23 different states, since March 7 this year. According to information provided by...
Catherine Ibrahim lives in a camp for displaced persons run by the Catholic Diocese of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. Here, she describes the murder of her husband and abduction of her children – both at the hands of Boko Haram – and her eventual captivity. She told her story to Aid to the Church in...
ANTOINE HADDAD, 19, a member of the Armenian Catholic Church, grew up at the height of the Syrian civil war, amidst chaos and violence. The first bombings of Aleppo destroyed parts of his home. He gives a glimpse of his suffering in this interview with Aid to the Church in Need: “I was in school,...
It’s a sad feeling for Selma, a Syrian displaced person who witnessed the departure of her eldest son for Lebanon. She, and many others, displaced and Syrian refugees, do not want to return to their homes they had to leave hurriedly. In 2011, when terrorists fell on Christian homes in Idlib, Selma’s family fled. Since...
Bishops and priests in the Phillipines have revealed that they have been receiving death-threatening messages largely because they speak out against the extrajudicial killings in the Country. In a press conference at a seminary in Quezon City, Fathers Flavie Villanueva, Albert Alejo, and Robert Reyes said that they have been sent messages threatening to kill...
The Holy Father has appointed His Grace, Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama as the Coadjutor Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city. With his appointment, Msgr Kaigama will take over from His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan who has clocked the retirement age of 75. The Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, Archbishop Antonio Guido Filipazzi, made the announcement yesterday...
