This year, the Church commemorated the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, an important anniversary for the entire Christian world. This November, Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit Turkey, where the council was held, fulfilling the commitment made by Pope Francis before his death. International Catholic charity Aid to the Church in …
Category archives: Feature story
Archbishop Mourad: “The Church in Syria is dying. There is no freedom, religious or otherwise”
The end of Christianity in Syria would be a great loss, because “the Church stands as a reminder to everyone of the ethics of justice and human dignity as a supreme value.” Syriac Catholic Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs, Hama and Nabk was recently in Rome as one of those to take part in the …
“Just like St. Peter, I was freed by a ‘miraculous earthquake,’” says Pakistani Christian
Shagufta Kausar was sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy and spent over eight years in prison. She recently shared her story at the launching of the Religious Freedom in the World Report, in Rome. In the summer of 2013, a mob broke into the simple house where Shagufta Kausar lived with her paralyzed husband, Shafqat …
Catholic University in Erbil is celebrating ten years: Bravo!
Ten years of bringing hope and fostering coexistence in Iraq In 2014, Yohana Al-Zebbaree was a pre-teen boy from a Chaldean Catholic family living in the northern Iraqi city of Duhok when jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) overran Mosul and began expanding their control over large parts of northern Iraq. “I remember the night …
Continue reading “Catholic University in Erbil is celebrating ten years: Bravo!”
Faith among the glaciers: a Capuchin bishop on the Church’s northern front
Bishop David Tencer has been a missionary in Iceland, where the Atlantic meets the Arctic, for over two decades. Since 2015, the Slovakian Capuchin, with his wide smile, has been responsible for the northernmost diocese in Europe. During a visit to the headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), he showed that his …
Continue reading “Faith among the glaciers: a Capuchin bishop on the Church’s northern front”
Ethiopian Spiritans evangelizing local cultures
In the ancient Christian nation of Ethiopia, there are nomadic groups who have never heard the Gospel. The Spiritans work with these communities to spread the Good News and evangelize their culture, which also involves dialogue with controversial traditions. “Every community has its own culture, and of course, their culture is beautiful,” says Fr. Kilimpe …
Continue reading “Ethiopian Spiritans evangelizing local cultures”
The young girl who fled from Iraq and met the Pope
Harshly persecuted for her faith, Sofia ended up finding solace in God and the strength to forgive those who forced her from her country and nearly killed her several times. On August 6, 2014, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Christians had to leave everything behind and escape their homeland, as terrorists from the Islamic State …
Continue reading “The young girl who fled from Iraq and met the Pope”
Thousands of children prepare to return to school
Thanks to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and its benefactors From kindergartens to universities, many students are receiving an education thanks to ACN-funded programs in crisis-hit countries around the world, where Christian communities are in danger of extinction. As a new school year begins in many parts of the world, thousands of children …
Continue reading “Thousands of children prepare to return to school”
Guatemala: A faith built in community
In the heart of southeastern Guatemala, the small village of Villa Graciela bears witness to the humility and perseverance of the Church. Thanks to the silent commitment of laypeople such as Mirna Sucely Ramírez and José Flavio Silvestre, pastoral life flourishes within the community which has been struggling to rebuild not only the physical structure …
Finland: Extraordinary ecumenism
The small Catholic community keeps on growing year after year, and relations with its Orthodox and Lutheran brothers and sisters are remarkable. Imagine a country the size of Italy with only eight parishes and 29 priests or living 300km away from the closest Catholic church. This is everyday life for Bishop Raimo Ramón Goyarrola Belda …