Between January and the end of December 2023, the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, suffered 119 attacks against the settled populations by Fulani herdsmen. According to a report sent to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), over 400 people were killed, and more than 100 others were wounded, raped, or …
Continue reading “Nigeria: In 2023, attacks caused over 500 victims in Nigeria’s Benue State”
Three weeks after extremists murdered more than 300 people, burnt down entire villages, and destroyed food supplies in coordinated attacks in Nigeria’s Plateau State, none of the perpetrators have been held to account. Masara Kim, a local journalist whose cousin was killed, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that hundreds of …
Continue reading “Nigeria -No justice for 300 people massacred on Christmas Eve”
Regina Lynch, executive president of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), highlights the worrying increase in religious freedom violations around the world, but also the positive reaction to ACN campaigns such as Red Wednesday and One Million Children Praying the Rosary. You were nominated executive president in April 2023. What is your view for …
Continue reading “ACN to focus on Middle East, Sahel, and Latin America in 2024”
Terrorists caused death and destruction during the Christmas holidays among the Christian communities in Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Mangu (but Bokkos was the epicentre) Plateau State, central Nigeria. The executive president of ACN, Regina Lynch, regrets yer another episode of violence against Christians in Nigeria. “This year began with the brutal murder of Fr Isaac …
Continue reading “Fulani herders kill nearly 200 Christians at Christmas in central Nigeria”
During an interview at the international head office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga from the Diocese of Bangui spoke about the attitude a Christian must have in the face of suffering as well as towards sisters and brothers in need. He also shared his experiences from the Synod on …
Continue reading “Cardinal Nzapalainga: “As a Christian, I must hear and see things differently.””
A minibus to support religious sisters in their ministry The Little Sisters of Saint Francis is a local congregation founded in 1923 by Irish Franciscan Mother Mary Kevin Kearney, who first came to Uganda in 1902. She started with five other sisters, initially working under the shade of a tree, treating the sick and teaching …
Fr Ha-Jo was aware of the risks to his safety by continuing to work in Mali, but persisted, driven by a desire to improve the situation for the country overall, and to remain with his small Christian community. A German priest who was kidnapped in Mali over a year ago has finally been freed. Hans-Joachim …
Continue reading “Mali – German priest freed after over a year in captivity”
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. …
Continue reading “Centrafrica – “Even if people have forgotten you, God has not forgotten you.””
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 …
Continue reading “Bomb hits Salesian sisters’ house as war heads into seventh month”
Three motorcycles for religious brothers in a rural area The “Rural Missionary Brothers” (Frères Missionnaires des Campagnes) have been working in Africa since 1969. Today, they are present in four West African countries: Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Mali. However, numerous areas of West Africa now face the threat of jihadist terrorism. In Burkina Faso …
