CAMEROON – Everybody is afraid of the suicide bombers On Friday 19 February a double suicide bombing in a market in Mémé in northern Cameroon claimed the lives of at least 20 people and left several dozen injured. The attack by two female suicide bombers, is thought to have been the work of Boko...
Christian boys accused of mocking Islam sentenced to jail for 5 years in Egypt Three Christian boys aged 15 to 18 were sentenced to five years in jail by a court in Egypt’s Minya province. They were accused of mocking Islam last year after recording a video in January 2015 while on a class field...
Six ways to live Lent as Pope Frances asks In his message for Lent 2016 Pope Francis asks us that “the season of Lent in this Jubilee Year be lived more intensely as a privileged moment to celebrate and experience God’s Mercy”. Here is a short list of things you can do to put...
People sped to safety as villagers ransacked church buildings in Ethiopia Bishop Abraham Desta has expressed his horror after the torching and looting of a Church compound in Gighessa parish, Ethiopia, on 18 February by the very people whom the priests and Sisters were helping. Gighessa parish – one of the oldest and biggest...
New emergency aid package for Syria People under constant threat of bombardment in the Syrian city of Aleppo will receive a new emergency relief package in the latest round of aid payments announced by the UK Head of international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Neville Kyrke-Smith, National Director of ACN...
AZERBAIJAN- Catholic faith growing slowly but steadily Christianity has very ancient roots in Azerbaijan,dating right back to the time of the Gospels. Although today some 90-95% of the population are Muslims, 70 years of Communism have meant that in practice no more than about 20% of these even practise their religion today. Christians make up...
YEMEN – Nuns killed in terrorist attack on retirement home Four nuns from the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, were killed last Friday in the city of Aden, Yemen. They were: Sr. Anslem from Ranchi, India who would have turned 60 years old on 8 May; Sr. Judith from...
Just 13 years old Extract from a letter received recently from Archbishop Jeanbart of Aleppo He was just 13, poor Fouad Banna, the child whom we buried this afternoon – his sister Rosy, his close family members and myself. His parents, both seriously wounded, were not present at his funeral for they themselves are...
Five years have passed since Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s Minister for Minorities Affairs and the first Christian to hold such high office in the Federal Government of this Islamic country, was murdered. Up to now it is not clear who stood behind his assassination, though in fact the far more interesting questions are: who was this...
Kenya builds new prison for ‘extremists’ to tackle radicalisation Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta announced plans to build a special prison to house “violent and extremist” offenders to keep them from influencing other prisoners, though no timelines were given for its opening. “We will establish a new prison to hold violent, extremist offenders – the...
