Four Christians killed, villages razed in fresh attack in Mozambique

An estimated 128,000 people have had to flee the affected region, according to UN estimates. Photo: Displaced women (2024). At least four Christians were murdered by jihadists in northern Mozambique over the past days, in the latest wave of attacks of an insurgency which began in 2017. Although the insurgency began in Cabo Delgado Province, …

Apostolic Vicar of Istanbul: “Our community awaits the arrival of Pope Leo XIV with profound joy and anticipation”

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 …

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 …

Burkina Faso: Two dioceses hit by new wave of attacks

The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) expresses its deep concern and sadness over the renewed upsurge in terrorism in the Dioceses of Nouna and Fada N’Gourma, respectively in the northeast and southeast of Burkina Faso. Over the past few weeks, civilians and members of the Church have once again suffered …

Gaza: October 12, first Sunday of Peace After the Ceasefire

The parish priest of Gaza called on his flock to “forgive all those who have failed and to ask forgiveness” for their own shortcomings, as preparation for what he hopes will be an end to this war. (Photo of the banner: a painted wall located more than a thousand kilometers away, in Beyrouth. a little …

Pope thanks children who prayed for peace in ACN campaign

This was the 20th edition of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN’)’s One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign. Pope Leo XIV kept up the tradition of his predecessor, Pope Francis, by promoting the One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign, organized by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), on social media,with a …

Gaza: A first step towards peace after 733 days of war

As indirect talks continue in Egypt between Israeli envoys and Hamas, a cautious hope for the beginning of peace is taking root in the Diocese of the Holy Land. The parish priest of Gaza’s only Catholic parish shared with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) the heavy toll of two years of war. “Two …

Mexico: A bullet-dodging bishop

In Guerrero, one of the most violent states in Mexico, faith is the last refuge for a population living under the weight of organized crime. Bishop José de Jesús González of the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa carries out his pastoral mission with a commitment that has put him, quite literally, in the line of fire. Bishop …

Church clings to life amid chaos in Gaza

Aid to the Church in Need echoes Pope Leo’s call for peace The Gaza Strip is currently going through one of the darkest periods of its recent history. Yesterday a United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide against the population of Gaza, denouncing crimes against humanity in the conflict …