Aid to the Church in Need approves 3.59 million dollars for schools in Lebanon and Syria. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has approved a new aid package for schools in Lebanon and Syria for the 2023-2024 school year. The 3.59-million-dollar package includes school grants for more than 16,000 predominantly Christian pupils from poor …
Author archives: mariobard
Centrafrica – “Even if people have forgotten you, God has not forgotten you.”
Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga tours his war-torn country, Central African Republic (CAR), where some young people find it difficult to lay down their weapons and find their way back to school. On his travels to the ‘margins,’ which are particularly close to the heart of Pope Francis, the cardinal feels the pulse of an abandoned population. …
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Burkina Faso – New chapter of suffering for Christians
Murder of two scouts and expulsion of Christians in the northwest of the country Terrorists have forced the Christian population of Débé in Burkina Faso to leave their village. Earlier, they shot dead two scouts in the village church who resisted their orders. This incident was reported by Bishop Prosper B. Ky during a visit …
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Red Wednesday 23 – A Groundswell from Coast to Coast
Press Release – For Immediate ReleaseRed Wednesday 2023 — Persecution of Christians Montréal, Wednesday, November 27, 2023 – Last Wednesday, November 15, in Canada, nearly forty events were held to mark Red Wednesday, not counting people in the Saskatoon area who were invited to attend an ecumenical service last Wednesday, November 22, at the Holy Covenant …
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The Bishop of Tripoli urges international community to end conflict between Israel and Palestine
Holy Land Königstein, Germany/Montreal, Canada – One month after the terrible terrorist attacks by Hamas that led to war in Gaza, the Maronite archbishop of Tripoli, Lebanon, Msgr. Youssef Soueif, calls on the international community to urgently intervene to put an end to the devastating conflict. During a recent visit to the international head office …
India-Church rejoicing that martyrs now on road to sainthood
An Indian archbishop has expressed delight that the Vatican has opened the cause of canonization of martyrs killed during one of the most violent outbreaks of Christian persecution this century. The cause has been opened of Catholic catechist Kanteswar Digal and 34 others who died when Hindutva extremists attacked Christians in Kandhamal, Odisha (formerly …
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Bomb hits Salesian sisters’ house as war heads into seventh month
Sudan Some residents suffered minor injuries, but miraculously, according to a priest who was on site at the time, nobody was killed by the blast. A bomb struck the house of a mission operated by Salesian religious sisters in Sudan, at 6:50 a.m. on Friday, November 3, causing serious damage. According to those who were …
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GAZA: “I am heartbroken”, Sister Nabila about the bombing of her school
The plight and suffering of the Christian community in Gaza intensify every day One month after the beginning of the current war in the Holy Land, the consequences for the small Christian community in Gaza can be described as terrible. According to a project partner of the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need …
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Red Wednesday: one week away!
Press Release – For Immediate Release Montreal/Königstein, November 9, 2023 — For close to 10 years now, several national offices of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) have been highlighting Red Wednesday. In Canada, ACN is kicking off what is known as Red Week (#RedWeek, #SemaineRouge) early. The primary objective is to “shed light …
Bethlehem’s heart-wrenching cry
“Without faith, I couldn’t continue, not even for a minute.” Bethlehem, West Bank/Königstein, Germany/Montreal, Canada – In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Rony Tabash, a member of a Christian family that has been in Bethlehem for generations, describes how the current conflict is directly impacting the Christian community in the …