Pope Francis sends message to Chile and Peru ahead of his visit Pope Francis sent a video message to the people of Chile and Peru in advance of his January 15-22, 2018, apostolic visit. “I will visit you as a pilgrim of the joy of the Gospel” Pope Francis said, stressing the themes of...
IRAQ: Hundreds of Christians celebrate the feast of St Behnam in ruins of monastery destroyed by ISIS Hundreds of Iraqi Christians took part in the celebrations for the feast of the martyrs St. Behnam and his sister Sarah in the monastery where the relics of the saint are kept. The sanctuary, a few kilometres from the city...
PHILIPPINES “My destroyed cathedral can wait… We must first rebuild inter-faith relations” A Bishop in the Philippines, whose cathedral and the home was destroyed by extremists, has stated that his top priority is to rebuild inter-faith relations and bring healing to his traumatised people. Bishop de la Peña said he does not see rebuilding the...
SRI LANKA “Fundamentalists see Christianity as a threat” Bishop Noel Emmanuel of the Trincomalee diocese in eastern Sri Lanka has visited the international offices of the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in Germany. In May 2009 the end of a 25-year civil war in Sri Lanka was officially declared. Separatist...
PERU Improving living conditions is not only a question of economics The evangelisation of the suburbs has priority in Peru, says Marco Mencaglia, head of the Peruvian section of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need. He was interviewed by Amélie Berthelin – de La Hougue on the occasion of the upcoming...
Patriarch Younan’s New Year message appeals for peace and security for Iraqi and Syrian Christians In his New Year message, Ignatius Youssef III Younan Patriarch of Antioch for Syriac Catholic Church emphasises the importance of praying for peace. He issues a passionate appeal to the western world for economic sanctions on Syria to be lifted...
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO “Despite the dark night we are living through, we have not lost hope” The refugee crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is even worse, numerically than those in Syria, Yemen or Iraq. “Our sufferings serve the material interests of other nations. There is a deliberate intellectual silence on...
Terror attacks before Christmas cannot stop peace work In many places, people looked forward to Christmas with trepidation. Attacks against Christians mounted just before Christmas in three countries: in Nigeria, India and, on the 3rd Sunday in Advent, in southwest Pakistan. In Pakistan, two suicide bombers of the terrorist militia are attacked around 400...
INDIA Bishops condemn violence and urge authorities to restore order The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) issued a statement at the end of December 2017 condemning violent attacks against Christians and urging political leaders to bring back the rule of law and order and to deal severely with miscreants. STATEMENT The Catholic Bishops’...
Holy See supports Jerusalem’s historical status quo The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations called for dialogue toward a peaceful resolution that respects the nature of Jerusalem in accordance with the relevant UN Resolutions. It asked that the status quo of Jerusalem, the “spiritual capital” to millions of believers...
