The murder of seminarian Andrew Peter follows the recent killing of Fr Sylvester Okechukwu. Nigeria has had three times more kidnappings of clergy and religious in the first three months of 2025 than in the same period of 2024. (Cover photo: Pray to Christ on the cross for the suffering Church in Nigeria. Add your …
Continue reading “Nigerian Church in pain as 21-year-old seminarian murder”
Since 2021, at least one pastoral agent has been murdered every year in the Diocese of Kafanchan. The bishop of the Diocese of Kafanchan in Kaduna State, Nigeria, has expressed his “deep sorrow and righteous indignation” over the abduction and subsequent murder of one of his priests. Fr. Sylvester Okechukwu was abducted from his residence …
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A total of five priests and two religious sisters have been kidnapped in Nigeria this year alone. Besides Fr. Sylvester Okechukwu, who was murdered, two remain missing, while the other four were released. (Cover photo: A destroyed crucifix in Burkina Faso, a country where the security situation for Christians is challenging too.) A Catholic priest …
The number of priests and religious kidnapped in 2024 increased, while the number arrested for reasons of persecution decreased. In total, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) registered 122 cases impacting priests and religious, including 13 murders, 38 kidnappings, and 71 held under arrest. Ten of these incidents involved women, eight of whom were …
Continue reading “Being a priest today: One of the most dangerous missions in the world”
ATTENTION, update: the two religious sisters were released on January 13. Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray for those oppressed by kidnapping. Two religious sisters, Vincentia Nwankwo and Grace Okoli, were abducted this past Tuesday, January 7 in Anambra State in southeastern Nigeria. They belong to the congregation of the Sisters …
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Gang violence, forced migration, and poverty continue to plague Haiti. In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the Bishop of Fort-Liberté, Quesnel Alphonse, speaks of looting by gangs, the growing influence of Islam, and the trauma of a population that “feels completely lost.” *** The cover photo was taken in 2017. …
Continue reading “In Haiti, “it’s about surviving,” says Bishop Quesnel of Fort-Liberté”
In the face of rampant violence which is paralyzing Port-au-Prince and isolating Haiti from the rest of the world, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Haiti, in a message received by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), calls on the government to act and appeals to every Haitian to work for peace and overcome hatred. …
Continue reading “Haiti on the brink: bishops issue a “cry of alarm” for peace”
As the bishop of Latin rite Catholics in Syria, the Franciscan Hanna Jallouf is very familiar with the situation in Idlib Governorate, the last rebel stronghold, where he served as a pastor for 22 years until his appointment as bishop in September 2023. In a conversation with an Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) …
Plagued for months by gangs that plunder, kidnap and terrorize the population, Haiti continues to fight every day for its survival. Amid this terrible situation, the Church in the country remains a beacon of hope, says Fr Baudelaire Martial, a Haitian priest from the Congregation of the Holy Cross (photo), who visited the international headquarters …
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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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