Pope will visit Egypt in April Pope Francis’ first international trip this year will be to Cairo, Egypt on 28-29 April. The visit is in response to an invitation from His Holiness Pope Tawadros II and the Grand Imam of the Mosque of al Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayyib, as well as Egypt’s president ...
CONGO – Bishops Sound the Alarm The bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo have issued an urgent warning that rising violence and political unrest are threatening the nation with “unravelling and chaos.” The bishops expressed sorrow for “thousands” who have lost their lives in recent months, including many minors enlisted by various militias. The...
ECUADOR – One year after the earthquake in Ecuador: Don’t forget us! Thank you for the help and the prayers! – Interview with Father Walter Coronel, head of the rebuilding projects in the Archdiocese of Portoviejo “We celebrate most of our Holy Masses in tents or on the streets.” One year has passed since Ecuador’s...
NIGERIA – Catholic bishops accuse government of indifference The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has expressed displeasure at the federal government’s attitude towards the killings perpetuated by Fulani herdsmen. In his opening address at the First Plenary Session of the Conference held from March 4 to March 10 in Abuja, Nigeria with the...
IRAQ – “Religious co-existence will be difficult” Archbishop Emil Shimoun Nona has spoken about the difficulties displaced Iraqi Christians will face when they return to their homeland. Nona took charge of the Chaldean Archdiocese of Mosul in 2010, becoming the youngest Archbishop of the Catholic Church. Today, he lives in Australia as Archbishop Emeritus...
Healing a “distorted, bloodied and corrupted society” The leader of Nigeria’s Catholics has made an impassioned plea for peace and dialogue as the country faces violence, crippling economic crisis, and the threat of famine in the north-east, where militants continue to carry out attacks.The call comes at a time of heightened tension amid reports...
CONGO – A spring of water welling up in glorious Kinshasa A Contemplative community of religious Sisters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who pray for persecuted Christians will have their future ensured by a new well, after a chronic shortage of water threatened their survival. “We didn’t know how we were...
Orthodox and Catholics: “Saving unborn children together in the Spirit of Christ” Orthodox and Catholics in Russia are developing joint initiatives for the protection of life. In doing so, they are transforming shared beliefs into concrete programmes and responding tothe appeal made by their church leaders. The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in...
SYRIA – “A Lent of tears” Marking the beginning of Lent 2017 with a pastoral letter, the leader of the Maronite Church in Damascus, Archbishop Samir Nassar, described the situation in Syria in terms of an “apocalypse … a large wasteland of ruins, pulverized buildings, burned out homes, neighborhoods turned into ghost towns, villages razed...
