Three motorized rickshaws for pastoral work in Mitú The Vicariate Apostolic of Mitú lies in the Amazon region of eastern Colombia in an area covering over 54,000 km². Roughly a third of its population of 45,000 people live in the town of Mitú itself. The remainder live scattered throughout this jungle-clad region and most of them …
Author archives: mariobard
Egypt: “We’ve seen real progress”
His Beatitude Ibrahim Sidrak, the Coptic Catholic patriarch of Alexandria, heads the small Coptic Catholic Church, which has around 300,000 faithful. In an interview with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), he shared his concerns and joys over his country, which has become a refuge for many Christians from other countries. …
India: The elections and their consequences for Christians
On June 4, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one of the major political parties in India, won its third election, extending Narendra Damodardas Modi’s tenure as leader of the country. What are the consequences of these results for the Christian community? In this interview, Father Pradeep, a Jesuit from the state of Jharkhand, shares his …
Continue reading “India: The elections and their consequences for Christians”
ACN Success Story – Zambia
Help for the training of 12 Spiritan seminarians The Holy Ghost Fathers (Congregation of the Holy Spirit, CSSp.) – also known as the Spiritans – were founded in 1703 in France. Today, its members are present in over 60 countries, evangelizing and ministering to the poor and to those on the margins of society, especially …
Jesuits open first novitiate in Bangladesh with help from ACN
Thirty years after returning to Bangladesh, the Jesuits are opening a new novitiate on July 16 in the South Asian country, where Christians are a small minority. By allowing the novices to have their initial formation in their own culture and language, the Jesuits hope to promote vocations. (Photo: from the beginning, the construction process …
Continue reading “Jesuits open first novitiate in Bangladesh with help from ACN”
USA – A good news for religious freedom
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) congratulates U.S. legislators for renewed commitments to religious freedom A bill approved by the U.S. Congress will go a long way in helping to fund efforts to promote religious freedom in countries where it is lacking. Pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has expressed its …
Nigeria – How a bishop became a bridge between Christians and Muslims
When he converted to Christianity, at age 12, Gerald Musa’s father could scarcely have imagined that his son would become the first bishop of his influential Hausa ethnic group. (Cover photo : Bishop Gerald Mamman Musa of Katsina welcoming guests at the airport. On the right, Fr. Ikokwu Onwuchekwa.) Though mostly used nowadays to refer …
Continue reading “Nigeria – How a bishop became a bridge between Christians and Muslims”
Ukraine – Liberation of two Redemptorist priests
It is with immense gratitude that Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) informs of the release from Russian captivity of Fathers Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta, Redemptorists (C.S.s.R.), on June 28, 2024. This information has been confirmed by the information department of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), to which they belong. The Russian …
Continue reading “Ukraine – Liberation of two Redemptorist priests”
Ukraine: “War begins in the heart”
During his visit to the international head office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia spoke with the charity about the situation on the ground. During the discussion, the bishop, who leads one of the largest dioceses in Europe, highlighted the importance of pastoral …
Pakistan – Desperate plea for Christian man put on death row
The chair of the Catholic (National) Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) in Pakistan has condemned a court for ordering the death sentence on a Christian man found guilty of blasphemy in connection with one of the worst atrocities against minorities in the country’s history. Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, president of the Catholic Bishops’ …
Continue reading “Pakistan – Desperate plea for Christian man put on death row”