ACN Project of the Week – Uruguay

Helping the only seminary in the country! In Uruguay, the Catholic Church holds much less influence in society than in most other Latin American countries. Only around 30% of the country’s 3.5 million citizens identify as Catholics, and religious faith and practice have been largely relegated to the private sphere. The second smallest country in …

Pakistan-Abductions and forced conversions of young Christian women increasing

Head of Justice and Peace Commission sees little progress in religious freedom. The director of the Catholic National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) in Pakistan, Father Emmanuel Yousaf (Mani), says abductions and forced conversions of young women from Christian minorities are on the rise. “The problem is becoming more acute day by day,” the …

Ukraine: “People just wish for peace, and the Church is constantly praying with them for freedom.” – Interview

Magda Kaczmarek has been with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) for 32 years and is head of projects for Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, and the Balkan countries, where generally, Catholics are a minority. She recently returned from a trip to Ukraine, and in this interview, shares her impressions and what the needs of the …

An adventure of faith in the forest

In the Brazilian Amazon, a Capuchin friar shares the many efforts and trials necessary to spread the Gospel in this vast region and the help that makes it all possible. Friar Paolo Maria Braghini was returning to his mission one afternoon, after having gone to buy supplies in the city, when a cloud began to …

“Being a priest in Nigeria includes the danger of being kidnapped.”

Roads are fraught with danger in Northern Nigeria. Besides the risk of kidnapping, accidents are common and can be fatal. A good car would make Fr. Andrew’s mission easier to accomplish. Video of Fr. Andrew explaining why it is important to have a safer mode of transport in #Nigeria. “Being a priest in Nigeria includes …

RWANDA: Forgiveness is a power given by God

How the Church is helping the reintegration of those imprisoned for genocide against the Tutsis. April 7 was declared International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Twenty-nine years after these tragic events (April 7 – July 15, 1994), the prisoners who are still incarcerated are those who received the …

Haiti – “painful and outrageous.”

Head of the Clerics of Saint Viator describes kidnapping of priest as “painful and outrageous.” Two priests were abducted in recent weeks in Haiti, a country in the midst of a deep crisis. While one of them managed to escape after several days in the hands of his kidnappers, the other was released on March …

Nigeria – Christian leader hoping new leaders will have “the common good of everybody at heart.”

Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu, the president elected of Nigeria who will be asserted in May, comes from a region famous for interreligious harmony and is married to a practicing Christian. Christians hope he will be an improvement on President Buhari, who has been accused of being soft on radical Islam and Fulani violence. Nigerian Catholics …

Iraq -Bishop Nathanael Nizar at ACN

“We want to be treated with dignity as Iraqi citizens, because we are people of this country.” Twenty years after the fall of the regime led by Saddam Hussein, Christians in Iraq continue to fight for their right to be treated as equal citizens and to live their faith free from persecution. Pope Francis’ visit …

Syria – “You journeyed with our suffering people until death”

A moving tribute to Father Imad Daher, who died in the 6 February earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, written by a childhood friend. Sister Jacky Abinassif is from Majd el Meouch, in Lebanon, and knew Father Imad Daher well. “He was a friend of my family – he was our neighbour – and a close friend …