The Church in Cuba continues to accompany a population marked by fear, uncertainty, and deep need in all areas of life. In a conversation with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Marcelo Arturo González Amador, who is president of the Cuban Bishops’ Conference, describes the dramatic situation the island is currently experiencing. “Cuba …
Continue reading “Head of bishops’ conference asks that Cuba not be forgotten”
First interview with new Chaldean Patriarch Amel Shamon Nona In 2015, the then Archbishop of Mosul left for Australia after his entire flock was exiled following the rise of the Islamic State. One decade later, he returns to Iraq, now as the newly elected patriarch of the Chaldean Church. On May 29, His Beatitude Amel …
“We dream of reaching even 5%, but we are far from that”. In an address to representatives of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Benedictine Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel offered a stark and personal account of the fragile and rapidly shrinking Christian presence in the Holy Land. The image of Jerusalem as a vibrant heart …
Continue reading “Holy Land increasingly emptied of Christians”
As Pope Leo XIV prepares to visit Cameroon on April 15 & 16, Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) interviewed Bishop Emmanuel Dassi of Bafia about the reality of the local Church in Cameroon, its social and political role, and the challenges facing the country – particularly in the Anglophone region, which …
Continue reading “Cameroon: A vibrant Church, but “conflict remains an open wound””
Faced with the pending withdrawal of the Lebanese Army from the south of the country, Christians who are attached to their land have expressed their concern for the future. In a statement published on March 31, 2026, four Christian municipalities in southern Lebanon – Alma Sha’b, Rmeich, Debel, and Aïn Ebel – expressed their “deep …
Continue reading “Christian Villages in South Lebanon: Security Alert”
Bishop Jules Boutros, from Lebanon, tells ACN that even though the Israeli attacks are supposedly against Hezbollah, they are affecting all Lebanese. As Israel continues to attack several sites in Lebanon, a young local bishop has told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that the situation can only be described as catastrophic …
Continue reading ““We can’t say there is a safe place in Lebanon.””
The last entirely Christian village in the West Bank, Taybeh, east of Ramallah, has been enduring a wave of attacks and intimidation by Israeli settlers. Hostile acts include setting fire to agricultural lands, cars, and the walls of an ancient church, hateful and threatening graffiti, livestock released into the village, not to mention the numerous …
Continue reading “Taybeh: Do Not Let Palestinian Christians Become a Memory of the Past”
The only diocese in Mauritania has just celebrated its sixtieth anniversary. Bishop Victor Ndione, who has led the Diocese of Nouakchott for two years, speaks to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) about the challenges of being a pastor in a transit country affected by irregular migration. (Banner photo: Migrant workers in …
Continue reading “The challenges of ministering to a community of migrants”
The Vatican has officially confirmed that this coming April, Pope Leo will visit Algeria, making this the first-ever visit from a current pope. Leo XIV, who is an Augustinian by formation, will visit Algiers and Hippo Regius – the historical name of Annaba – following in the footsteps of St. Augustine. In this interview with …
The Cry of Gaza’s Parish Priest Although the media attention has died down since the ceasefire, the Gaza Strip continues to sink into an unprecedented humanitarian and health crisis. Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Gaza’s Catholic priest, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, described the “very serious” conditions marked by the daily suffering of …
Continue reading ““It is absolutely essential that the war stops””
