Fr Andrzej Halemba, the Coordinator of Aid to the Church in Need (International) for the Middle East, is collecting material and testimonies from several Christians from Syria and Iraq who have suffered for their faith in Christ and others who are still being persecuted. Fr. Halemba has also met many Arabic speaking people who wish...
SYRIA – Will we become the Guardians of Rocks, Pebbles and Stones? Shaken safeguard Six years of war have finally shaken the Syrian society’s safeguard: THE FAMILY, which was the primary cell that absorbed the shocks and misfortunes of the never ending violence and that saved the country and the Church until 2014. Insecurity,...
BOSNIA – “We are there for the children that need us.” When Katarina leafs through the photo albums from the last two decades with Sisters Admirata and Manda, her joy is tinged by melancholy. The photographs keep memories of Katarina’s happy childhood days alive. However, the realisation that the sheltered days of her youth will...
VENEZUELA – Bishops appeal to President to accept humanitarian aid as crisis deepens As the economic and social situation in Venezuela continues to deteriorate day by day, even basic necessities are no longer available. The country has run out of most medicines from common painkillers to cancer and HIV drugs. Desperate doctors have resorted to...
MEXICO – Three priests abducted and killed this month Less than a week after two Catholic priests abducted in Mexico were found murdered, the body of a third priest, Fr. José Alfredo López Guillén, was discovered. His car has also been found overturned on a road nearby. According to a message written on the archdiocese’s...
NIGERIA – Nightmare in Boko Haram enclave: a young mother’s heartbreaking story Rebecca had been held by the terrorists for two years. On 5 September she arrived in Maidiguri to be reunited with her husband – with a new baby fathered by a Boko Haram militant. The family of Bitrus Zachariah and his wife Rebecca...
IRAQ – Christians are desperate for help A recent visit organised by ACN to Erbil, a region of Iraq where millions of displaced Iraqis currently live, revealed that Christian families in particular were still in great need of help to survive. Iraqi Christians are currently in a desperate situation, especially as many aid agencies are...
BURMA – Crops and pigs fund education for poor children When a remote parish in Burma’s Shan state needed funds desperately to provide food and schooling for 15 poor children, they came up with an unusual solution – pigs. The children, some of whom were orphans, who came from poor families in remote villages were...
Pope Francis at memorial Mass for Fr Hamel – “To kill in the name of God is satanic” Pope Francis made this strong statement before his General Audience in St. Peter’s Square as he officiated at a Mass for Fr Hamel, the 86-year-old French priest killed by an Islamic terrorist. The Eucharistic celebration was...
AZERBAIJAN – Vatican representatives meet Caucasus Muslim leaders A meeting between a delegation from the Vatican and a delegation of the Caucasus Muslim Department (CMD) has taken place in Baku, a little over a month before Pope Francis’ visit to the country. The meeting was chaired by Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazadeh, chairman of the DMC, and...
