Ukraine – Liberation of two Redemptorist priests

It is with immense gratitude that Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) informs of the release from Russian captivity of Fathers Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta, Redemptorists (C.S.s.R.), on June 28, 2024. This information has been confirmed by the information department of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), to which they belong. The Russian …

Pakistan – Desperate plea for Christian man put on death row

The chair of the Catholic (National) Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) in Pakistan has condemned a court for ordering the death sentence on a Christian man found guilty of blasphemy in connection with one of the worst atrocities against minorities in the country’s history. Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, president of the Catholic Bishops’ …

Nigeria: Kidnapped priest goes free

Nigerian priest Father Mikah Suleiman was released last night (Sunday, July 7) after more than two weeks in captivity. The parish priest of St. Raymond’s Catholic Church, in Damba, Zamfara State, had been abducted from his presbytery in Sokoto Diocese, North-West Nigeria, in the early hours of Saturday, June 22. In the days that followed, fears for …

East Timor – Pope’s visit expected to be a source of hope and many blessings

Devotion to the Catholic Church is one of the distinguishing aspects of East Timorese culture. Francis will be the second pope to visit the territory, but the first since independence. East Timor is one of the world’s youngest countries, having obtained independence in 2002. Pope Francis’ visit from September 9 to 11 this year will …

Iraq: “Christians are like olive trees. You can burn them, but they will still bear fruit.”

Many feared that the invasion of their homelands would drive Christians from Iraq for good, but ten years after being driven from their homelands by militants of the Islamic State (ISIS), thousands of Christians have returned to houses in the Nineveh Plains rebuilt with the help of ACN, taking with them their love for the …

DRC-Bishop calls on authorities to end the torment of the Congolese people

After new massacres in North-Kivu, Msgr. Sikuli Paluku, bishop of Butembo-Beni, in a message sent to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), denounced the atrocities committed by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) since the beginning of June 2024. The bishop insists that there cannot be a separation between faith and the defence of human …

Pakistan calls for“swift and impartial justice” following mob killing of Christian man

Christians in Pakistan have demanded Punjab officials bring to justice the perpetrators of the brutal attack on Nazir Gill Masih in Sargodha, which resulted in his death. (Photo : Church authorities meet police chief after attack, May 25). In a recent report sent to the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), …

Father’s Anton message for Benefactors’ Day 2024

Father Anton Lässer, International Ecclesiastical Assistant, addresses a message to the benefactors of ACN on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, a day dedicated to them. Dear ACN Family, Last week, the presidents from ACN’s 23 national offices met with our charity’s management in Königstein. There, the leaders of our project department gave an overview …

Child’s Bible: 45 years of teaching children about God’s love

The Vatican held the first World Childre’s Day on last May 25-26. Pope Francis, in his message for this occasion, emphasizes the preciousness of every child in God’s eyes.  In 1979, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) marked the International Year of the Child by producing the Child’s Bible to assist the Church’s pastoral …

Pakistan: Another victim of religious persecution

On June 3, Nazir Gill Masih, a 72-year-old Christian, succumbed to his injuries. A resident of Sargodha, a town in Punjab province, he had been beaten by a mob falsely accusing him of blasphemy 10 days earlier. (Cover photo : On May 25, Archbishop Joseph Arshad and Christian Senator Tahir Khalil Sindu visited the police …