Burkina Faso: Priest calls for prayer after three new terrorist attacks

The Diocese of Fada N’Gourma has been shaken by new terrorist attacks in the parishes of Piéla and Saatenga, in the east of the country, causing many deaths and significant material destruction. These attacks form part of a pattern of terrorist violence which has been intensifying in the country since 2015. “The attacks are multiplying. …

Burkina Faso: “As a pastor, my heart bleeds”

In only a decade, Burkina Faso has become an epicentre of terrorist violence, with over 40% of the country’s territory outside of government control. The Catholic Church is one of the institutions that provides material and spiritual support in this situation. Two Burkinabe priests from one of the dioceses that has been hardest hit by …

Burundi – Bishops denounce murders and abductions of citizens, saying the situation “makes one shudder.”

Human rights violations are widespread in Burundi, a small country which borders the much larger Democratic Republic of the Congo. For years, the country has been largely isolated from the outside world. Recently, the Burundian bishops drew attention to the country’s plight, which goes largely unnoticed by the general public. For decades, Burundi – a …

Conflict in the Holy Land (2)

Jerusalem, a city of peace in a state of war In East Jerusalem, which is home to around 10,000 Christians, the situation is also very difficult. Around 40% of them are also dependent on the tourism sector, and many have lost their jobs. The tourists have left, and the hotels that are not empty are …

Conflict in the Holy Land (1)

“We should do all we possibly can to save what can be saved…” Only a few weeks ago, on September 30, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, was named a cardinal at the consistory in Rome. His flock in Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Cyprus, including the Vicariate for the Migrants and Asylum Seekers and …

India, Manipur – Pray for an end to the suffering!

A Catholic archbishop in northeast India, who has seen his diocese at the centre of a wave of deadly attacks, has issued an urgent appeal for prayers “to transform the minds of the people who are led by hatred and religious violence”. In a letter to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Archbishop Dominic …

Nigeria: “Religion should unite us, not divide.”

A Catholic Archbishop who needs guard dogs in the house, and an armed escort when he travels, speaks of the difficulties of carrying out his mission in his diocese. Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso of Kaduna, in north-central Nigeria, leads one of the most dangerous dioceses in the world. You wouldn’t guess it, though, from his smile …