Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) expresses concern over Palm Sunday restrictions in Jerusalem, Syria, and Gaza, and conveys its support for Christians in the Holy Land. The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) expresses deep concern over events that took place during Palm Sunday celebrations on March 29, 2026 …
Continue reading “Middle East: Holy Week begins under the sign of the cross”
Holy Week has begun against a backdrop of persistent war and shortages in the Catholic compound in Gaza. Despite everything, the community intends to celebrate Easter to the full, sustained by a prayer for peace throughout the Middle East, as Father Gabriel Romanelli explained to the Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). …
On March 10, 2026, the Israeli Ministry of Education announced that no work permits will be issued for the 2026-2027 academic year to Palestinian teachers residing in the occupied West Bank who hold a “green card” – an administrative document allowing certain Palestinians to work or travel within Israeli-controlled areas. Consequently, over 200 Christian teachers …
Continue reading “Jerusalem: Christian schools under threat”
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.””
Faced with the recent escalation of the conflict in Lebanon, Pontifical Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has significantly increased its aid to the country. Currently the focus is on the development of healthcare infrastructure, support for IDPs, and concrete aid for the regions worst affected by the attacks. One of the goals …
Continue reading “Aid to the Church in Need increases emergency aid to Lebanon”
The situation in Lebanon has become dire. Hunger is looming, and many people no longer know where to go. They have been displaced by the increasingly relentless bombardments by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). (Photo of the banner: Our Lady of Lebanon). See the situation on the ground Among those affected, many Christians living in …
Churches have opened their doors to receive IDPs, but efforts are overstretched operating schools, hospitals, care homes, and orphanages. (Photo of the banner: Fr. Maroun Youssef Ghafari, Maronite parish priest of Alma Sha’b in 2025, at the border with Israel. Rubbles of the war of 2024 are still visible.) As another 25 people were killed …
Continue reading ““The Church is really a rock in Lebanon” as airstrikes intensify”
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”
Since the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, at the end of February 2026, the southern border of Lebanon has again become a war zone. In this context of increased violence, Fr. Maroun Youssef Ghafari, the Maronite parish priest of Alma Sha’b, on the border with Israel, has decided to stay with his …
Continue reading ““We will stay, despite the war,” says priest in southern Lebanon”
Pontifical Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) calls for prayers for Fr. Pierre El Rai, a Maronite priest from the Maronite Diocese of Tyre and a project partner of the charity in southern Lebanon, who was killed amid the current escalation of violence in the region. According to information received by ACN, the …
Continue reading “ACN calls for prayers for Fr. Pierre El Rai, killed in southern Lebanon”
