IRAQ – Inhabitants of Qaraqosh assess damage after IS occupation   “I don’t understand how people can harm each other so much,” sighs security guard Louis Petrus. Today, Louis has returned to his hometown for the first time: the Christian city of Qaraqosh, near Mosul, which he had to flee on 6 August 2014, when IS...

SYRIA – Aleppo  sporadic fighting still going on despite ceasefire   Aleppo is still far from peaceful after its costly liberation: despite the agreed ceasefire between Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syria, sporadic gunfire continues in the beleaguered  city. The director of the German branch of the Catholic charity ” Aid to the Church in Need”, Karin...

INDIA  – The Church in India a shining light for all to see   India is a country of more than 1.2 billion people, with Christians accounting for only some 3 percent of the population, including close to 19 million Catholics. Despite its relatively small size, the Indian Church has a disproportionate impact on Indian...

Is political correctness stopping Governments helping Middle East Christians?   A long term reluctance to intervene by governments of the US, EU and other western powers has made the plight of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria even worse. The latest Report produced by an alliance of 15 charities including Aid to...

HOLY LAND “We must never become accustomed to the Occupation”   Bishop Declan Lang of Clifton, chair of the Holy Land Co-ordination, has issued a joint statement about the West Bank Occupation with the other 11 bishops from Europe, North America and South Africa who make up the  Co-0rdination. The statement marked the conclusion of...

Pope Francis meets Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas   Last week Pope Frances met with Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, at the Vatican. The cordial discussion evoked the existing good relations between the Holy See and Palestine, “sealed by the Global Agreement of 2015, which regards essential aspects of the life and activity of the Church in...