IVORY COAST “Religion can bring about reconciliation” says Bishop Dogbo The Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d´Ivoire, is a country in transition: after years of civil war, the people that make up this heterogeneous society are trying to lead lives of unity and reconciliation. This is true in both politics and religion....
INDIA Bitter memories a decade after Hindu massacre of Christians It is the tenth anniversary of a horrific outburst of anti-Christian violence that, in August 2008, killed more than 100 Christians in the Kandhamal district of India’s Odisha State; the violence damaged or destroyed 300 churches and 6,000 homes, with 50,000 people ending up...
IRAQ “An international peace-keeping force should be stationed on the Nineveh Plains” Four years after IS invaded, Iraqi bishops are still worried about the future of their faithful Four years after the “Islamic State” (IS) advanced into the Christian villages on the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq the Syriac-Orthodox Archbishop Timotheus Musa Al...
IRELAND Highlights of Pope Francis’ visit During his two-day visit to Ireland for the occasion of the World Meeting of Families, Pope Francis’ had to confront and deal with the scandals that cast a shadow over the papal visit. He repeatedly apologised on behalf of the Church and pledged action to resolve serious issues...
IRELAND World Meeting of Families 2018 inaugurated The Opening Ceremony for World Meeting of Families 2018 took place simultaneously across all 26 Dioceses of Ireland on the evening of Tuesday 21 August, with the lead ceremony taking place in Dublin. The Opening Liturgy was celebration of Evening Prayer entitled “Together with Christ.” His Eminence Cardinal...
NICARAGUA “The lies are almost as dangerous as the bullets because they create a psychosis of war” Sources close to the Catholic Church in Nicaragua are accusing the media in the country of a lack of neutrality. News reports about the grave crisis the country has been going through in recent months should be...
UKRAINE Remember our ‘silent and forgotten war’ pleads Archbishop Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, called on the international community and especially fellow Catholics not to forget the crisis in Ukraine. “This is a silent and forgotten war. Because it is a ‘frozen conflict,’ no one speaks loudly...
NIGERIA “We may be doing better. But we are still far from normality” – Fr Bature Father Tobias Bature, a priest of the diocese of Maiduguri in the state of Borno, Nigeria recently visited the headquarters of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). The foundation is helping to rebuild...
MADAGASCAR Islamisation is on the march Madagascar is currently going through a grave political crisis, a few months ahead of the presidential elections. Christians have been a majority on the island since the 19th century. Although it is difficult to find reliable statistics, the latest Report on Religious Freedom in the World calculates approximately...
IRAQ “A strong coalition government is needed to remove weapons from sectarian militias” -Patriarch Sako Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako addressed a letter to all Iraqi politicians and the diplomatic delegations present in Iraq, highlighting their responsibility in the face of the political-institutional paralysis which Iraq is in after the 12 May elections. The...
