New Chaldean Patriarch to Iraqi Christians In a message to Paul III Nona, ACN’s executive president recalled the sufferings of the Chaldean faithful in Iraq, who “have so often been called to bear witness to their Christian faith in times of persecution and suffering.” The new patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church was officially installed …
Category archives: Iraq
“Do not be afraid, just believe”
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 …
Drone strike in Erbil raises fears among Iraq’s Christians
The return of war to the Middle East has reopened old wounds and many Christians are again contemplating leaving the region. A drone strike last Wednesday (4 March) damaged Church-owned buildings in Ankawa, the Christian-majority district of Erbil in northern Iraq, raising fresh fears among local Christians about their future in the region amid escalating …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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Farewell to Bishop Paul Thabet Habib
A Friend, a shepherd, a witness: ACN remembers Iraqi bishop It is with sadness and gratitude that Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) bids farewell to Bishop Paul Thabet Habib of Alqosh, who passed away on June 20, following a battle with cancer. To us, he was not only a close partner but a …
Christians must be allowed to stay in the Middle East!
“States have to change their perspective. It’s not about focusing on the number of Christians, but on the value that the presence of the Christians adds.” Cardinal Bechara Raï, patriarch of the Maronite Church In a statement to Pontifical Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the patriarch of the Maronite Church, Cardinal Bechara …
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ACN Project of the Week – Iraq
Subsistence aid for four monks in Karamles The ancient city (today a small town) of Karamles (or Karemlesh) is 29 kilometres south-east of Mosul in the Nineveh Plains region of northern Iraq. It is a mainly Christian town, with the majority belonging to the Chaldean Catholic Church. In August 2014, Karamles was overtaken by the …
Ewelina Ochab urges: “The day can help to educate, but action is needed.”
Fifth anniversary of the International Day Commemorating Victims of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. (Cover photo: The Night of the Witness 2022 in Canberra, Australia). 22 August 2024 marks the fifth anniversary of the International Day Commemorating Victims of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, established by the United Nation (UN) General Assembly in …
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