One year on from violence described as the worst outbreak of anti-Christian persecution in Pakistan, Church leaders say people are both terrified of more attacks and furious that felons have not been brought to justice. Leading clergy in the Diocese of Faisalabad reported that security services warned Christians in Jaranwala against holding outdoor events today …
Continue reading “Jaranwala one year later – no justice, no safety “
Story written by Maria Lozano, director of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International’s Press and Media Department. In it, we read the testimonies of the people that the ACN delegation was able to meet, shortly after the invasion of the Nineveh Plains by the Islamic State (IS). Here is Part 2, in which …
Continue reading “Iraq, August 6, 2014: one story, one hundred thousand faces (2)”
Story written by Maria Lozano, director of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International’s Press and Media Department. In it, we read the testimonies of the people that the ACN delegation was able to meet, shortly after the invasion of the Nineveh Plains by the Islamic State (IS). In this first part, we recall …
Continue reading “Iraq, August 6, 2014: one story, one hundred thousand faces (1)”
The Holy Land’s Christians have suffered a “disturbing rise” in attacks including spitting, physical harassment, damage to property and cemeteries, and disruption of services. (Cover photo: The cross over the Duomo, Holy Sepulchre Church, Jerusalem.) The findings are part of a report by the Jerusalem-based Rossing Center, called Attacks on Christians in Israel and East …
Continue reading “Attacks on Christians are increasing in Israel”
An amendment to the Christian Marriage Act means that girls and boys cannot marry below the age of 18. Though only a first step, this could make it easier to curb cases of abduction and forced marriage of Christian girls in the country. The Catholic Church in Pakistan has applauded the signing into law of …
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His Beatitude Ibrahim Sidrak, the Coptic Catholic patriarch of Alexandria, heads the small Coptic Catholic Church, which has around 300,000 faithful. In an interview with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), he shared his concerns and joys over his country, which has become a refuge for many Christians from other countries. …
On June 4, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one of the major political parties in India, won its third election, extending Narendra Damodardas Modi’s tenure as leader of the country. What are the consequences of these results for the Christian community? In this interview, Father Pradeep, a Jesuit from the state of Jharkhand, shares his …
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Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) congratulates U.S. legislators for renewed commitments to religious freedom A bill approved by the U.S. Congress will go a long way in helping to fund efforts to promote religious freedom in countries where it is lacking. Pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has expressed its …
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’ …
Continue reading “Pakistan – Desperate plea for Christian man put on death row”
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 …
