SYRIA “We will always be people of hope and life.” On September 9, Catholic faithful and Church leaders including Cardinal Mario Zenari, the Vatican nuncio to Syria, bishops of other Christian churches; and representatives of Aleppo civil authorities, gathered at the Our Lady of the Assumption Syriac Catholic Cathedral for the inauguration and...
PAKISTAN Another Incident of Violence Against a Christian Woman Marta Petrosillo SHE WAS THROWN FROM A SECOND STOREY ROOF AFTER REFUSING TO CONVERT TO ISLAM Binish Paul is 18 years old and a Christian. She attends public school in Pakistan. On 22 August, a young Muslim by the name of Taheer Abbas threw her...
CAR ALINDAO DIOCESE STRUGGLING TO RISE AGAIN FROM ITS ASHES In this Interview with Maria Lozano of ACN International, Bishop of Alindao speaks of the situation in the Central African Republic and his Diocese in particular. How is the situation generally in the country at the present time? The Central African Republic is continuing to...
NIGERIA “Peace is still possible” The Episcopal Conference of Nigeria has called on the Catholic faithful and all Nigerians to brace up in the face of the prevailing crisis to put their trust in God while working hard to build a harmonious and peaceful nation. The Bishops stated this in a Communiqué issued at the...
ROME Pope Francis appeals to International Community for victims of Syria, Iraq More than 50 Catholic charity organizations, representatives of episcopal conferences and ecclesial institutions and religious congregations operating in Syria, Iraq and neighbouring countries gathered at the John Paul II Auditorium of the Pontifical Urban University to take part in a meeting organised by the...
SYRIA Faith helped Christian family remain in Aleppo in face of hardship FOR 22 YEARS, Michel Baladi, 43, worked at a printing house. In 2003, he married Rima, 38, with whom he has three children: Mariel, age 13; Christel, age 10; Georges, age 7. They live in Aleppo, Syria and in recent years...
EGYPT New Church library helps young people learn more about their faith Sheraton-Heliopolis is one of the newer suburbs of Cairo that did not even exist a few decades ago. Close to the international airport, it was named after the original Sheraton hotel which was the only existing building there at the time. It is...
IRAQ “Increase Security to protect us from Islamist extremists” urges Archbishop As Daesh (ISIS) launches a new spate of attacks in Iraq, a senior Church figure is calling on the West to protect displaced Christian families returning home. Syriac-Orthodox Archbishop Timotheus Mousa Al-Shamani told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need about his...
FIJI “God has heard the cry of my people” An interview with Archbishop Peter Loy Chong of Suva The Fiji Archipelago in the southern Pacific is a renowned destination for divers and tourists, above all from Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Its capital city, Suva, is also the commercial and political centre...
SYRIA “We have to rebuild the country. Simply wanting to return is not enough” Under the leadership of Maronite Archbishop Samir Nassar of Damascus and with the support of the international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), a delegation from the Family Commission of the Syrian Bishops’ Conference was able...
