MIDDLE EAST – Vatican and Moscow Patriarchate offer joint help for persecuted Christians Following the historic meeting in Cuba between Pope Francis and Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches have joined forces to provide humanitarian assistance to Christians in the Middle East who have suffered as a result of the conflict....
EU Human Rights Court rules Iranian Christian converts have right to seek asylum The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Iranian Christian converts must be granted the right to a fair evaluation of danger by European governments before they can be denied asylum and sent back to Iraq, which...
60-year-old Christian woman caned for breaking Sharia law A 60-year-old Christian woman in Indonesia’s Banda Aceh province has been caned for breaking religious laws aimed at Muslims. This is significant because it was the first time a non-Muslim was caned under the province’s harsh Sharia (Islamic) laws and sets a precedent. In other parts of Indonesia,such...
CHINA – Rev Gu released ahead of Chinese president’s meeting with Obama The Chinese government has released Rev. Gu Yuese from prison ahead of President Xi Jinping’s scheduled meeting with President Barack Obama. Rev Gu is the former leader of Hangzhou’s Chongyi Church, the the largest government sanctioned church in the country, The megachurch...
India’s bishops urge government to help find Fr Tom Following the circulation of widespread rumors that Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil was crucified on Good Friday, Indian bishops wrote to India’s Prime Minister and government , “soliciting their urgent intervention to ensure the safety of Fr. Tom” and urging greater effort in locating the priest. In a 28...
SIERRA LEONE – Minibus for the one and only seminary in the country To this day Sierra Leone is still suffering from the consequences of its bloody civil war. The economy and the infrastructure have been utterly ruined, and over 70% of the population are living in poverty today. And the situation was made still...
UKRAINE – Pope Francis praises Ukrainian Greek-Catholics for keeping the faith in difficult circumstances In a meeting with leaders of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC) Pope Francis praised their people, saying they were “tireless witnesses of hope” in Christ amid decades of hardships. The UGCC is the largest of the...
Vatican offers free health care for poor in Rome Poor and homeless men and women will now be able to turn to the Vatican for medical treatment, the latest initiative to offer care for those persons living on the streets of Rome. Located near the colonnade, the new “clinic for the poor” opened recently,...
“Why Christians must remain in Syria” – message from Archbishop Jeanbart in Aleppo The reason Christians are holding out despite everything is deeply rooted in the history of our Church. Christians have been here in Syria right from the earliest days and were baptised by the apostles themselves. St Paul was baptised, confirmed,...
43 Assyrian Christian hostages released by Islamic State 43 Assyrian Christian hostages have recently been set free by Islamic State in northeastern Syria. The released hostages, who were abducted in February 2015 from villages near Tal Tamr, are...
