NIGERIA – Boko Haram free 21 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls   Boko Haram militants have released 21 of the 270 girls abducted two years ago from a school in Chibok, north-east Nigeria. The abduction was part of Boko Haram’s fight to establish a fundamentalist Islamic state in the region, drawing global attention to the jihadist insurgency. According to...

PAKISTAN – Asia Bibi’s final appeal adjourned   The most notorious case involving Pakistan’s blasphemy laws has been adjourned. One of the three-judge bench, Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman, told the court he had to excuse himself from the Asia Bibi appeal because of a conflict of interest. “I was a part of the bench that was hearing...

SYRIA -“The country is destroyed” – interview with Fr Halemba   Father Andrzej Halemba, the Director of Projects in the Middle East International for Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), recently returned from a trip to Syria. In an interview with ACN he talks about the current situation in this war-torn country....

COLOMBIA – Cúcuta diocese seminary celebrates its 30th anniversary   The diocese of Cúcuta lies in the far north-east of Colombia, on the frontier with Venezuela. This year there has been a special reason for celebration, since the local diocesan seminary is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its founding. The rector of the seminary, Father José Abel...

IRAQ – Displaced Christians rejoice as Qaraqosh is liberated after 2 years    Qaraqosh: 2 years, 207 days, 19 hours, 48 minutes and 13 seconds… “We are so happy, and we are praying to be able to return to our homes one day”. On 6 August 2014 the plain of Niniveh was overrun by the...

SYRIA – Assyrian Christians caught in crossfire of battle against IS   Assyrian Christian villages in north-east Syria have been taken over by militias from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), as fighting continues to re-take the area from Islamic State. Kurdish militias have reportedly erected signs in different places in the villages along the Khabour...

BRAZIL – 101-year-old woman receives First Communion 101 year old Doña Penha had seen and experienced many things but the latest event is probably one of the most significant in her long life. She received her First Communion during Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel nursing home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – probably the...

Rouen diocese starts  Fr Hamel beatification process after Pope gives approval   Dominique Lebrun, Archbishop of Rouen, announced that his diocese has officially begun an inquiry into the beatification of French priest Jacques Hamel, killed by Islamic extremists earlier this summer. The archbishop made the announcement after celebrating a special Mass on 2 Oct to re-open...

KENYA – Latest terrorist attack intended to drive out Christians from the region   A radio station run by the militant Islamist group al-Shabab is claiming that the latest terrorist attack on Christians in northeast Kenya was a deliberate attempt to drive them out of the region. The group claimed that its forces were responsible for...

BANGLADESH – Family of Dhaka massacre victim help to build new church   After the tragic attack in the Bangladeshi city of Dhaka last July, the family of one of the victims, Simona Monti who was pregnant when she was killed, gave a generous donation to help ACN build a new church. The first stone of...