Message of a Pakistani Priest for Christmas In Lahore, Pakistan, where Christians make up only a small minority in a predominantly Muslim society, Christmas takes on a special meaning. Despite facing significant challenges and restrictions, the Christian community continues to celebrate the birth of Christ with deep faith. Father Lazar Aslam, a Franciscan Capuchin priest, …
Continue reading ““Never take the freedom to express your faith for granted””
Help for the training of 25 Norbertine novices The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré—also known as the Norbertines—was founded in France in the 12th century and has around 1,600 members on six continents today. In 1960, Dutch Norbertine Fathers founded what is now the Abbey of Jamtara in India and just two years later, …
New Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) report Press release – For Immediate Release Montreal/Königstein, November 12, 2024 – According to a new report published in Canada today, the persecution of Christians has worsened considerably in most of the countries surveyed. Persecuted and Forgotten? provides a global and regional analysis, examining the situation of …
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ACN Success Story: A new village chapel for the Diocese of Sylhet The Diocese of Sylhet was only established in 2011. It is situated in the northeast of Bangladesh. The 20,000 or so Catholics living there are no more than a tiny minority within a total population of some 14 million across the territory of …
For more than 70 years, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has been involved with refugees and displaced people worldwide. In the face of growing migration, the international Catholic charity continues to bring hope through its projects in crisis zones of the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and Europe. (Cover photo: migrants participate in …
A pastoral centre for the parish of Boqueirão The parish of Boqueirão belongs to the Diocese of Campina Grande in the impoverished northeast part of Brazil. It is around 60 years old and is dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Desterro (Our Lady of the Flight)—a reference to the flight into Egypt by Our Lady and …
Shagufta Kiran, mother of four, to appeal conviction A Christian mother of four in Pakistan has been sentenced to death for allegedly sharing blasphemous messages on WhatsApp. But legal advocates, supported by a leading Catholic charity, have vowed to appeal the conviction. Former nurse Shagufta Kiran, 40, was sentenced to death on Wednesday, September 18 …
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ACN is helping the Chaldean Catholics in Georgia, who have suffered much over the years on account of their Catholic faith. “Nobody talked about God at all,” says Ilona Bilianova as she remembers growing up in the USSR. Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and the daughter of an officer in the Soviet Army, Ilona spent much …
Unjustly imprisoned for eight years in Pakistan Shagufta Kausar was falsely accused of blasphemy. For almost eight years she was separated from her family, her husband was beaten and tortured, and they were pressured to convert to Islam. Now free, she tells in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) how she …
Continue reading “Interview — “God was with me in this struggle.””
A village chapel for a remote parish Last year, we presented you with a request from Father Arbok Lyngdoh of Moharpara in northeast India. He was asking for help on behalf of his faithful to build a new chapel in the village of Twichalong, just one of the 31 outlying communities belonging to his parish …
