Ukraine – Liberation of two Redemptorist priests

It is with immense gratitude that Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) informs of the release from Russian captivity of Fathers Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta, Redemptorists (C.S.s.R.), on June 28, 2024. This information has been confirmed by the information department of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), to which they belong. The Russian …

Ukraine: “War begins in the heart”

During his visit to the international head office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia spoke with the charity about the situation on the ground. During the discussion, the bishop, who leads one of the largest dioceses in Europe, highlighted the importance of pastoral …

“The light of faith and the witness of the Gospel can shine again.”

Darayya, Syria Fifteen Catholic families are able to return to the Christian quarter of a suburb of Damascus thanks to the reconstruction of their homes with the help of ACN. This will secure the Christian presence in the place where, according to various Christian traditions, the conversion of the Apostle Paul occurred.  An elderly couple …

DRC – “Our country is not for sale!”

Six bishops from the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have written an “assessment of the pastoral and social situation” of the country, following a meeting which took place in Butembo, from April 8-14, and which paints a bleak picture of the state of the country and denounces how “the dignity of …

Sudan – One year of war has left the country without any seminarians

For a year, the “war of the generals” has been raging across an already weakened country. The population is in agony and the small Christian community is shrinking away. “I once again ask the conflicting sides to stop this war, which is so harmful to the people and to the future of the country. Let …

“I am neither pro-Israel nor pro-Palestine. I am pro-human being.”

Benedictine Abbot in the Holy Land Six months after the terrible attacks by Hamas and the beginning of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Abbot Nikodemus pleas for the conflict to be seen from a humanitarian perspective, transcending religious and political boundaries. (Cover Photo: The roofs of the old city of Jerusalem.) As the Palestinian-Israeli conflict continues …

Gaza, West Bank, and Jerusalem

Christians reflect the essence of Holy Saturday As Christians around the world commemorate Holy Week, international charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) recalls the challenges facing Christians in the Holy Land, in Gaza, but also in the West Bank and Jerusalem. During his visit to ACN’s head office, Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel (photo) of …

Ukraine: “The grace of the Lord is greater than the horror of war”

February 24, 2024, marked the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Like the whole population, the seminarians are exhausted by this war. But uplifted by hope, they want to be a sign of God’s presence where they are. The seminarians, scarred by the war but matured by their faith, give many testimonies. They …

“It is a very special Easter; we are closer than ever to the crucified Saviour.”

The Christian community in Gaza is facing the most difficult period since the beginning of the war. Phone lines are cut and online communications are continuously disconnecting. One can hardly understand what Sister Nabila is trying to say: “quite,” “well,” “Church”… then the line goes dead, and that is how things have been for the …

International Women’s Day – March 8

Women: a crucial support in Ukraine On International Women’s Day, international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) highlights all the brave wives, sisters, mothers, and religious who are helping keep faith and hope alive in war-torn Ukraine. The war in Ukraine is not only an assault on an independent nation, struggling to …