” THE WAR IS OVER! ” (Message from a Pastor to his faithful of Aleppo, translated from Arabic) The war against Syria is over. This is what we are hearing in the declarations of the heads of State and this is what we have been seeing lately: a precipitation of events in the region,...
VATICAN CITY The Pope plans a surprise lunch for the poor on World Poverty Day As World Day of the Poor was celebrated for the first time, Pope Francis planned his own sweet surprise for the poor. The Pope invited 1,500 poor homeless people for Mass and lunch at the Vatican. Along with these,...
SYRIA “ Our job is to stand by the sick” Sisters caring for Syria’s sick and wounded throughout five years of heavy bombardment have received essential medical equipment from Aid to the Church in Need. The charity has provided the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition who run St Louis Hospital, western Aleppo,...
CHINA President seeks more control over religion In a speech during the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping announced that he wants to tighten Beijing’s strict government controls on religion in the communist country. Xi claimed that religions not sufficiently conformed to Communist ideals pose a threat to...
PHILIPPINES Bishops start rosary campaign against violent drug war The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has called for a prayer campaign urging Filipinos to pursue healing and repentance to stop the escalating violence in the conflict between police and drug traffickers. The prayer campaign involves praying the rosary for 33 days, until the...
SPAIN Sixty Vincentians martyred during Spanish Civil War beatified 60 members of the Vincentian Order who were martyred during the Spanish Civil War were beatified at a Mass in Madrid, a “celebration of hope, faith and forgiveness.” They include Vicente Queralt Lloret and 20 companions, and José Maria Fernández Sanchez and 38 companions. They...
MACEDONIA “The Catholic church is like a little family” Magda Kaczmarek, section head of the international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) for Macedonia, visited the south-east European country in June 2017. In the following interview, she describes the first impressions that she was able to gain in the country’s...
SYRIA Aleppo – the needy helping the neediest The young people of Aleppo are helping with aid projects in the city. The Orthodox Youth Movement, which is assisting 2,200 Christian families each month in the Syrian city of Aleppo, is being supported by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Over 100 young people...
