Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin tells the international pontifical foundation ACN about the terrible human rights violations that occurred during the devastating war from 2020 to 2022 in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, and particularly the sexual vio...
Read more![Bishops in Venezuela on upcoming elections: “The people know the future is in their hands”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/66a3364c5603f-ACN-20190908-91262.jpg)
In a joint statement, the Venezuelan Bishops Conference highlights the crucial role of the people in the elections scheduled for July 28th.
Read more![Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem: “When the wounds are bleeding, it is not time to speak of politics”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/66a32f0add5b7-ACN-20240624-167819.jpg)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, met with a delegation from Aid to the Church in Need on Wednesday, July 17th, and expressed his gratitude for the help received by the Holy Land.
Read more![Celebration of faith and peace at children's festival in Belarus](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/66a32d27d1757-Belarus.png)
The Catholic Church in Belarus is highly involved in pastoral work with children and young people. Every week, hundreds of children attend catechesis, and every year numerous children receive their first Holy Communion. During the Soviet period, the pract...
Read more![Egypt: "We've seen real progress"](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/66a32686de971-ACN-20200512-100942.jpg)
His Beatitude Ibrahim Sidrak, the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, heads the small Coptic Catholic Church, which has about 300,000 members. In an interview with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), he shared his thoughts about his...
Read more![Faith in the bateyes of the Dominican Republic](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/667ce3d926d13-ACN-20240328-162730.jpg)
In Batey 5, a peripheral area of the Diocese of Barahona on the border with Haiti, three missionaries, with the support of Aid to the Church in Need, help fight poverty and social exclusion in the neediest parish in one of the poorest dioceses in the Domi...
Read more![DRC: Bishop calls on authorities to end torment of the Congolese people](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/667bbd9589849-ACN-20221024-135366.jpg)
In a message sent to ACN, Monsignor Sikuli Paluku, Bishop of Butembo-Beni, denounces the atrocities committed by the ADF this month. The bishop insists that there cannot be a separation between faith and the defense of human dignity.
Read more![Pakistan: Widow of Nazir Masih, Christian killed by mob over false blasphemy accusations, dies](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/667a6abb40e79-6656cebd0a938-ACN27052024-PAK.png)
It is with great sorrow that Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has been informed of the passing of Alla Rakhi, the widow of the late Nazir Masih, who tragically was killed in the Sargodha incident. Overwhelmed by grief and depression over the death of her h...
Read more![Prison Ministry in Ecuador: Freeing souls through Christ's mercy](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6662a621c19d6-ACN-20240411-163049.jpg)
The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) supports a prison ministry programme for priests and lay volunteer missionaries in the Archdiocese of Guayaquil, Ecuador, to care for and accompany both prisoners and their families, offer...
Read more![Christian family in Pakistan attacked by an angry mob](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6656cebd0a938-ACN27052024-PAK.png)
A Christian family in Pakistan suffered a violent attack at the hands of an angry mob of Muslim fanatics this past Saturday, 25 May, following a false accusation of blasphemy. The victim was was brutally beaten after a false accusation of burning pages of...
Read more![New terrorist attacks in northern Mozambique cause mass flight of civilians](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/664c281523a6d-ACN-20210315-111139.jpeg)
Cabo Delgado was ravaged by two major militant offensives. Armed groups, allegedly linked to ISIS, targeted the town of Macomia and the villages of Cajerene and Missufine, exacerbating the region's displacement crisis. As the violence escalates, the Churc...
Read more![A Missionary's Journey: Bringing Faith to the Colombian Amazon](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/664c2419ea44e-ACN-20240318-162070.jpg)
A young priest speaks of the challenges and joys in bringing the sacraments to the most isolated communities in the Colombian Amazon. Father Jonathas Fernandes is only 33, but he already has an impressive resume as a missionary. He was only a child, in hi...
Read more![Brutal killing of Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt continue](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/662f10f16ffc8-ACN-20221219-138064.jpg)
Local community leaders say that the attacks follow the tactics employed by armed bandits who carried out the Christmas massacres in Nigeria. Religion is a factor in a conflict that also has ethnic and economic roots.
Read more![Sri Lanka: A town stands as a witness to the resurrection after persecution](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/662f03b944af7-ACN-20190424-87002.jpg)
Thousands of the faithful signed a petition addressed to Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, requesting the initiation of a cause for the beatification of the 171 Catholics killed five years ago. On April 21, 2019, what began as a joyful Easter Sunday celebration i...
Read more![ACN approves massive solar panel package to help Church in Lebanon and Syria face electricity crisis](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/662f02836e0f7-ACN-20230228-141897.png)
As the world marks the 30th anniversary of World Sun Day on May 3rd, emphasizing the significance of renewable energy resources, Aid to the Church in Need highlights the transformative impact of solar panels in the lives of parishes, religious orders, and...
Read more![Still no justice for Jaranwala victims – bishop](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/662088d5a01de-ACN-20230829-152038.jpg)
A bishop in Pakistan has expressed his disappointment with the authorities for failing to bring to justice those behind one of the country’s worst attacks against Christians – and for not doing enough to help victims.
Read more![Sudan: One year of war has left the country without any seminarians](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/661de5430e408-ACN-20200622-102474.jpg)
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.
Read moreSeminary looted and vandalised, as security situation worsens in Haiti
Read more![Catholic bishops of Haiti plead for an end to violence and for national reconciliation](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65fcb36915b73-ACN-20240306-161260 (1).jpg)
ACN will be joining the day of prayer for the people of Haiti on 22 March
Read more![Central African Republic: “A shepherd defends his sheep from dangers”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65f3a72b09f9e-ACN-20240301-161085.jpg)
On 23 February 2024, Pope Francis appointed Father Aurelio Gazzera, a long-time friend and partner of ACN, as Coadjutor Bishop of the diocese of Bangassou in the Central African Republic. The 61-year-old Italian Carmelite priest has worked for 33 years as...
Read more![Mozambique: Communities and churches attacked as insurgency intensifies in Cabo Delgado](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65e9154467572-ACN-20201215-108289.jpg)
Missionaries, priests, and religious sisters have been forced to flee remote towns and villages to Pemba and other large cities, which are overwhelmed with displaced people.
Read more![Argentinian Patagonia: Mission country](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65e912fc228fb-ACN-20240208-159887.jpg)
The Church in Patagonia faces unique challenges, marked by vast distances, great diversity, and a lack of resources. One of the bishops overseeing the development of the Church in this expansive territory of Argentina is Mgr. Roberto Álvarez, who recently...
Read more![Venezuela marks 140 years of the first Lourdes pilgrimage in the Americas](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65dfb213542e5-ACN-20240205-159681 (1).jpg)
The pilgrimage was instituted in 1884 by Fr. Machado, the Venezuelan priest in the Diocese of La Guaira, after returning from a trip to the famous shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Tony Pereira, a lay member of the current organizing committee, spo...
Read more![Anniversary of the Syrian earthquake](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65dfadf05e888-ACN-20230209-140403.jpeg)
On the first anniversary of the earthquake, a bishop in Aleppo calls for an end to sanctions and appeals to people not to forget the country
Read more![Six religious sisters kidnapped in Haiti](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65bac21a7728f-ACN-20191008-92308.jpg)
ACN stands united with the Pope in urging the immediate and unconditional release of the religious sisters from the Congregation of Saint Anne and calls for an end to the violence plaguing Haiti.
Read more![José Si Esono, the catechist who gave his life for the Faith in Equatorial Guinea](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65bac12940abf-ACN-20230515-146335.jpg)
During a visit to the headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Miguel Angel Nguema Bee of Ebibeyin recounted the moving story of José Si Esono, the first catechist martyred in Equatorial Guinea, whom the local Church would like to see beati...
Read more![No justice for 300 people massacred in Nigeria on Christmas Eve](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65b0541ec3119-ACN-20240118-158811.jpg)
Three weeks after extremists murdered more than 300 people, burnt down entire villages, and destroyed food supplies in coordinated attacks in Nigeria’s Plateau State, none of the perpetrators have been held accountable.
Read more![ACN helps Catholic school in Iraq build a new kindergarten class](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65b053754629e-ACN-20231120-156091.jpg)
Thanks to the generosity of Aid to the Church in Need’s benefactors, a growing Catholic school in Erbil was able to open a new kindergarten to accommodate the increasing number of children. Education is vital for the survival of Iraq’s long-suffering Chri...
Read more![Sowing the seeds of the Gospel in the Amazon](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65b049285b6f7-ACN-20230327-143252.jpg)
By evangelizing and assisting the Ticuna indigenous people, the Capuchin friars, with support from Aid to the Church in Need, are helping to preserve the Amazon rainforest.
Read more![ACN welcomes release of priests in Nicaragua, but concerns over lack of religious freedom remain](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65a5bd853b8ea-ACN-20190122-82614.jpg)
Nineteen clerics have been released and expelled from the country, joining dozens of others who faced exile in recent years. Restrictions on religious freedom persist in a nation where four out of nine dioceses now have bishops residing abroad, according...
Read more![Dozens of priests arrested in 2023 as authoritarian regimes crack down on Church](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/659f0ea1a0819-ACN-20180816-75041.jpg)
Thirteen priests and one religious brother lost their lives in 2023, with half of the deaths seemingly unrelated to persecution. While arrests increased, kidnappings of clergy decreased compared to 2022, still posing a significant concern, especially in A...
Read more![Ninety-seven year old woman sells art to support the persecuted church](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/659dbfdc10d34-ACN-20231213-157524 (1).jpeg)
Ninety-seven-year-old benefactor sells religious art to help suffering Christians
Read more![Fulani herders kill nearly 200 Christians at Christmas in central Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/659b42cfe3aee-ACN-20231227-158170.jpg)
In yet another assault by Muslim Fulani bandits on settled communities, Christians find themselves displaced and in despair due to the lack of security and government response.
Read more![ACN to focus on Middle East, Sahel and Latin America in 2024](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/659b3e566eded-ACN-20231019-154507.jpg)
Regina Lynch, the Executive President of Aid to the Church in Need, emphasises the concerning rise in religious freedom violations globally. However, she also highlights the positive response to ACN campaigns, such as Red Wednesday and One Million Childre...
Read more![Christmas Joy: 45,000 Gifts for Needy Children in Syria and Lebanon](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/657a7feebc0cf-ACN-20230421-144647 (1).jpg)
To celebrate Christmas this year, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is providing 45,000 gifts to needy children in Syria and Lebanon. In Syria, 35,000 children and in Lebanon, 10,000 children will receive Christmas presents in the form of urgently needed cl...
Read more![Fighting Political Corruption in Latin America](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6577e43b6b80d-ACN-20231211-157328.jpg)
Supported by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the Academy of Catholic Leaders seeks to equip individuals for undertaking political responsibilities. The year 2023 has left a lasting impact on the future of Latin American politics. The electoral calendar e...
Read more![Red Wednesday Around the World](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/657786293988c-23199_1141.jpg)
Participants in this year’s events heard testimonies from Nigerian, Pakistani, and Middle Eastern bishops, as well as life testimonies by missionaries and victims of persecution. Thousands of people took part in #RedWeek 2023 events in several differen...
Read more![Bishop Cortez Shares Challenges and Triumphs in Peru's Missionary Landscape](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/657658e20d244-ACN-20220105-122171.jpg)
In a discussion with the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Marco Antonio Cortez of the Diocese of Tacna y Moquegua, Peru, addressed projects concerning religious communities and the imperative to reach every corner of a country...
Read more![German priest freed after over a year in captivity in Mali](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/656d0880d2c9c-ACN-20210708-114720.jpg)
Fr Ha-Jo, a German priest with over 30 years of experience in Mali, was kidnapped in Bamako on November 20, 2022. Despite being aware of the risks to his safety, he continued his work in Mali to improve the country's situation and stay with his Christian...
Read more![The Miraculous Journey of Ciudad Chávez, Venezuela's First Parish in a Decade](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/656665403cf45-ACN-20231121-156183.jpg)
Ciudad Chávez is a neighborhood in the Venezuelan city of Vargas, within La Guaira Diocese, located just a few kilometers from Maiquetía International Airport. Established in 2013 as part of the social program initiated by then President Hugo Chávez, the...
Read more![Jaranwala riots marked a turning point for interreligious dialogue in Pakistan](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65666389b569f-ACN-20231115-155870.jpg)
A decade and a half ago, Archbishop Sebastian Shaw encountered much skepticism and little interest in dialogue from Muslim leaders. After years of building trust, he asserts that Islamic leaders themselves are now taking the initiative to speak up for per...
Read more![Nurturing Education and Resilience in Lebanon and Syria Amidst Unprecedented Challenges](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65651ad113ce0-ACN-20231124-156471_2.jpg)
ACN has approved a new aid package for schools in Lebanon and Syria for the 2023-2024 school year, totaling 2.6 million euros. The aid program encompasses school grants for over 16,000 predominantly Christian students from impoverished backgrounds in 176...
Read more![The Imam and the Bishop: Setting an Example for Interfaith Dialogue in Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6556b7d98be2d-ACN-20230203-139918.jpg)
A project supported by ACN has been yielding positive results in southwest Nigeria, where Christian and Muslim leaders collaborate to promote peace in Osun State. This Catholic-led initiative is making a significant impact in a country known for interreli...
Read more![Kidnapping of Priests Remains Rampant in Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6556ab12a809e-ACN-20230124-139414.jpg)
The abduction of priests and religious in Nigeria has become so commonplace that new cases barely register. Although most end up being released, forming a lucrative business for criminals, there have also been cases of fatalities, leaving Catholics in con...
Read more![Mexico's Battle for Peace: Faith Against Violence](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/653846cb72662-ACN-20230810-151177 (1).jpg)
Mexico City/Königstein - Mexico is known as one of the world's most violent and perilous countries. According to a report on crime in Mexico by the National Citizen's Observatory, there were 15,560 victims of intentional homicide in the first half of 2023...
Read more![FoSS founder hands over after 40 years](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6531b888d5441-Foss pic.jpg)
Stewardship of the Australian founded Friends of the Suffering Souls (FoSS) was formally handed to the Australia New Zealand international Catholic organisation, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) this week.
Read more![Urgent call for prayer for peace in the Holy Land](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6525dc7838778-ACN-20200217-97200 (1).jpg)
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) expresses its deep concern and regret at the escalation of violence in the Holy Land, which has caused the loss of more than a thousand lives and left thousands more injured.
Read more![The West must insist on justice for Jaranwala victims](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6525da5d53303-ACN-20230829-152047.jpg)
Governments in the West must intervene to demand justice be done for the victims of the “worst incident of persecution against Christians” in Pakistan – according to a priest who was on the scene when the atrocity took place.
Read more![Latin American donors offering their equivalent of the widow's mite](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6525ea0666215-ACN-20200310-98197.jpg)
“Many of our Latin American benefactors are not wealthy, but they realise there are Christians whose situation is worse than theirs”
Read more![ACN approves a second aid package for regions in Syria affected by earthquake](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/651b452b30f3a-ACN-20230227-141803.jpg)
The money sent to Syria will help restore critical Church infrastructure and continue to provide aid to those in need.
Read more![Wedding fire tragedy in Iraq: “We cannot describe the pain,” says Archbishop](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65163b72c2d34-ACN-20220805-131996 (2).jpg)
What should have been a symbol of hope for Christians in Iraq turned into a moment of despair. ACN asks all its benefactors to pray for those who died or were hurt, but also for the Christian community as a whole.
Read more![Pakistan: ACN to provide emergency relief for victims of Jaranwala riots](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6513ab43e9605-ACN-20230829-152026.jpg)
The support package for 464 families includes immediate relief items, renovation of homes and the purchase of vehicles for those whose livelihoods were destroyed in the attacks.
Read more![Manipur: “If the Government does not intervene, this could go on for months”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/65123289ae812-ACN-20230620-148291 (1).jpg)
The Archbishop of Imphal, in Manipur, India, says that violence is still taking place in the state and misses the lack of sufficient response from the central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Read more![Auxiliary Bishop of Lviv: Drone attacks on Caritas warehouse strike the most needy](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6510dc494dbed-ACN-20230508-145570 (1).jpg)
The Auxiliary Bishop of Lviv (Lemberg), Bishop Edward Kawa, has described the drone attacks on the west Ukrainian city of Lviv, in the early hours of 19 September, as "an attack on the poorest and most needy.”
Read more![Mozambique: Terrorists kill 11 Christians in attack in the province of Cabo Delgado](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/650cd6ac1b20d-ACN-20210915-116649 (3).jpg)
A local missionary says Christians were separated from their Muslim neighbours and slaughtered in cold blood.
Read more![Syrian Patriarch: Despite all the difficulties, it has been "a time of great grace"](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/650b9a25e07b5-ACN-20230911-152925.jpg)
Patriarch Youssef Absi, of the Melkite Catholic Church, thanks ACN for the support it has given to Christians in Lebanon and Syria, but says that there will be no stability in the Middle East without justice for Palestine.
Read more![Chad: a “small flock” of Christians in the desert](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/650a52cbc602e-ACN-20210526-113433.jpg)
Interview with Bishop Philippe Abbo Chen, the first native head of the Apostolic Vicariate of Mongo, in eastern Chad.
Read more![“Thanks to this scholarship I can stay and help build the future of Iraq”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6503d99345975-ACN-20230830-152138.jpg)
When Basma Adwar had the privilege of meeting with the Pope last June, all she could do was thank him for the scholarship that bears his name and that, thanks to ACN, has allowed her to go to university.
Read more![One million children praying the Rosary can change the world](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6503cd71b9f62-ACN-20221020-135197.jpg)
The role of angels in Christian life is at the centre of this year’s prayer campaign
Read more![Pope in Mongolia brings encouragement to all Catholics in Central Asia](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64ffa2ea96447-ACN-20230902-152273.jpg)
The leader of the Catholic Church in Kyrgyzstan was in Mongolia, where Pope Francis said that the littleness of the local churches is not a limitation, but a resource for the universal Church.
Read more![A seminarian brutally murdered and another kidnapped in Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64fe630134dca-ACN-20230908-152828.jpg)
ACN International denounces the latest attack on the Catholic Church in Nigeria, in which a seminarian was burned to death in the diocese of Kafanchan, as well as the kidnapping of another seminarian in southern Kaduna.
Read more![Kidnapped priest and seminarian released after three weeks’ captivity in Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64f94bd80b85c-ACN-20230329-143516.jpg)
A total of 13 clergymen have been kidnapped in Nigeria since the beginning of 2023, fortunately, all were later released.
Read more![Mozambique: 40 years later, religious sisters are back in Dómuè](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64f94a1d01eb4-ACN-20230811-151210.jpg)
When the Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate arrived in Dómuè they were received with great celebration. After 40 years, the Church once again has female faces in this huge parish, located in northeast Mozambique.
Read more![Pakistan: Parishioners gather for Mass outside their torched church](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64e5aa22b57e0-ACN-20230821-151655_size.jpg)
There were tears of sadness and fear in Pakistan on Sunday (20th August) as a crowd of 700 attended Mass outside their burnt-out church following one of the country’s worst outbreaks of persecution in a generation.
Read more![Nigeria: Killings of Christians “going on and on” with no arrests made](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64e2b69135e73-ACN-20230818-151551.jpg)
After 21 Christians were killed and more than 10 critically injured by Fulani militants in Plateau State, Nigeria last week, local sources said similar attacks are becoming more common, and perpetrators are rarely held to account.
Read more![Young Syrians and Lebanese recreate the spirit of WYD Lisbon in their own countries](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64e2ad4c9812a-ACN-20230817-151484.jpg)
Prayer, processions, adoration, catechism, but also plenty of fun was the order of the day as thousands of young Christians gathered in Syria and in Lebanon, physically distant, but emotionally united to the multitude who were in Lisbon with Pope Francis.
Read more![Pakistan: 1,000 frightened and homeless Christians forced to sleep rough](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64e29ef2d79e8-IMG-20230817-WA0043.jpg)
Nearly 1,000 panic-stricken Christians in Pakistan spent the night in sugar cane fields, having narrowly escaped rampaging mobs who set about targeting their homes, destroying everything down to the last lightbulb.
Read more![Pakistan: Mass exodus as mobs burn churches and homes](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64dd6e647152d-PHOTO-2023-08-16-14-19-12 (002).jpg)
Up to 15 church buildings have been attacked and hundreds of Christian homes destroyed after extremists went on a rampage in Pakistan.
Read more![Rescuing “evil” children from death in Ghana](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64dc205517267-ACN-20230704-149101.jpg)
In some parts of Africa, children who are born with disabilities are considered evil and often killed.
Read more![India: Manipur Archbishop - Pray for an end to the suffering](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64dc17c5b9a76-ACN-20230620-148296.jpg)
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.”
Read more![“We are making history with ACN in the Holy Land”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64d431cf312e0-ACN-20150619-26086.jpg)
George Akroush is the director of the Project Development Office at the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. In an interview with ACN, he speaks about the plans for renewing pastoral work among the Christians in the Holy Land.
Read more![Portugal: ACN gives a voice to the persecuted Church at WYD in Lisbon](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64d2d996267f6-ACN-20230807-150976.jpg)
Tens of thousands of young people took part in a variety of ACN initiatives during World Youth Day in Lisbon (WYD).
Read more![Peru: Challenges in the “land of saints”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64d03c015973b-ACN-20230719-149925.jpg)
“You cross the Amazon jungle, climb 5,000 metres above sea level, in the Andes Mountains, you head into the desert. You are now in what Pope Francis calls ‘the land of saints’”, says Luis Vildoso, director of projects for ACN in Peru.
Read more![Iraq Patriarch: President’s decree reversal is a ‘humiliation for the Church’](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64cc43256a5a6-ACN-20190219-84252.jpg)
The leader of Iraq’s largest Christian community has condemned a Presidential order overturning a decree which recognises him as Patriarch, calling the move “offensive” and the climax of a campaign to seize control of the Church’s assets.
Read more![New Pastoral Centre is a sign of hope for a better future in Iraq](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64caef4873850-ACN-20230731-150503.jpg)
Almost exactly nine years after hundreds of thousands of Christians were forced to flee from their homes due to the occupation of their lands by ISIS, efforts continue to rebuild lives and infrastructure.
Read more![DR Congo: Material needs affect the formation of seminarians in Kasongo](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64c9a22a66ab6-ACN-20230607-147760_size.jpg)
Just over 60 young men are currently undergoing formation in the propaedeutic Abbot Kaumo seminary of Kasongo, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Read more!["Burning for the Kingdom of God"](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64c8499fb601e-ACN-20230705-149250.jpg)
Interview with the new Ecclesiastical Assistant of Aid to the Church in Need.
Read more![NIGERIA: Christians are challenged to gain political power](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64c74ec6539ca-ACN-20230602-147552.jpg)
Bishop Matthew Kukah, 70, has led the Diocese of Sokoto in northern Nigeria since 2011. He is an outspoken critic of his country’s government for its failure to curb a culture of violence and protect Christians from deadly attacks.
Read more![Syrian Archbishops and ACN to Undersecretary of State Alfredo Mantovano: honour the memory of Fr Paolo Dall’Oglio by relaxing economic sanctions](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64c3263f8617c-ACN-20230727-150296.png)
On July 24, His Excellency Jacques Mourad, Syriac Archbishop of Homs, in Syria, with the president & the director of ACN Italy, Sandra Sarti & Alessandro Monteduro, met with Alfredo Mantovano, Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Mi...
Read more![Many Christians have fled Sudan, those who remain face difficulties, says missionary](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64c1e89924c90-ACN-20170224-51135.jpg)
Many of the Christians who lived in Sudan have fled the country or at least escaped the cities that are engulfed in violence, says a Spanish Comboni missionary who has worked for years in Sudan, in an interview with ACN.
Read more![PORTUGAL: ACN initiatives at WYD in Lisbon highlighting Christian persecution](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64c1d417da6b5-ACN-20230725-150180.jpg)
During the six days of World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, ACN will be carrying out a number of initiatives aimed at raising awareness of Christian persecution around the world and mobilising people to be active in defence of the suffering Church.
Read more![Ukraine: Diocese providing vital aid to those traumatised by war](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64bf68089e5e9-ACN-20221216-138009.jpg)
A bishop from western Ukraine has told ACN about his struggle to help the 400,000 war-scarred people who have flooded into his region since Russia's full-scale invasion began, in February 2022.
Read more![DR Congo: LAY ACTIVISM – an essential feature of one of the liveliest Churches in Africa](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64bf65e97c1dc-ACN-20230705-149211 (1).jpg)
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has one of the liveliest Churches in Africa, with 4,602 priests ministering in 1,500 parishes and 11,000 religious supporting their pastoral and social work.
Read more![India: Anti-Christian violence continues to rage in Manipur](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64b87df3a4771-ACN-20230620-148295.jpg)
Even leaders of the Hindu nationalist party are beginning to accuse the BJP of complicity in what has become a generalised attack on Christians. ACN continues to monitor the situation closely.
Read more![ACN helps Syrian and Lebanese young people experience the joy of World Youth Day (WYD)](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64b5d1fd1f107-ACN-20230712-149457.jpg)
With financial and logistical difficulties making it almost impossible for most Lebanese and Syrian Christians to go to Lisbon for WYD, local initiatives are underway to provide participants with as close an experience as possible.
Read more![Patriarch Sako leaves Baghdad in response to Iraqi president](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64b4912500797-ACN-20171009-62447 (1).jpg)
His Eminence Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarch and the leader of the Chaldean Church, has publicly announced his decision to “withdraw from the patriarchal seat in Baghdad, and go to one of the monasteries in Iraqi Kurdistan."
Read more![Ukraine: Donetsk bishop confirms kidnapped priests still missing](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64af9c594c3c0-ACN-20230711-149404.jpg)
The Auxiliary Bishop of the Exarchate of Donetsk, Maksym Ryabukha SDB, travels around to visit each and every person in his war-torn diocese. He asks for prayers, especially those whom he is unable to meet in person due to occupation or kidnapping.
Read more![ACN increases aid for children and young people in crisis countries](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64ab4044158cd-ACN-20230215-140685.jpg)
This summer ACN will support almost 400 camps and gatherings. Most of this financial assistance will go to Lebanon and Syria.
Read more![Kherson: A story of resistance against fear and despair](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64a606d91a50e-ACN-20230705-149184.jpg)
Russian troops occupied the city of Kherson, in southern Ukraine, at the beginning of March 2022. Nine months later a Ukrainian counteroffensive forced the Russians to retreat from the region of Kherson in early November.
Read more![Looking for leaders to help rebuild the Church in Iraq](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64a3795b3d593-ACN-20230703-149051.jpeg)
A gathering of almost two thousand young Christians in Iraq provides hope for the future and encourages the new generations to stay and invest in their country and in their community. ACN helped make this project a reality.
Read more![Cameroon: A new cathedral for the diocese of Maroua-Mokolo](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64a2670490a43-ACN-20230630-148889.jpg)
8 July will see the consecration of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin, in the city of Maroua, northern Cameroon. This step will conclude the nine-year construction project in the heart of the Maroua-Mokolo Diocese.
Read more![Myanmar: ACN calls for prayers for new bishop in Kayah state](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/649bc0083be8c-ACN-20230627-148675.jpg)
International foundation ACN calls for prayers on the occasion of the episcopal ordination, on 29 June, Feast of Sts Peter and Paul, of Mgr. Celso Ba Shwe as bishop of Loikaw, capital of the state of Kayah, in Myanmar.
Read more![DRC: The Church at the bottom of a mine](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/649a25f6d64a0-ACN-20230622-148486.jpg)
Despite the extreme poverty of its population, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the main suppliers of rare minerals in the world. The Church is committed to ensuring that miners are treated more fairly.
Read more![India: Government sponsored Hindu nationalism at root of interreligious clashes in Manipur](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6493e8d9e12b5-ACN-20230620-148290.jpg)
Local Church sources have little doubt that the clashes that have pitched Hindus against Christians in the state of Manipur are part of a wider agenda to encourage the Hindu base to vote for the ruling BJP party in upcoming elections.
Read more![DRC: May the government take on its responsibilities!](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/648bb17194230-ACN-20180320-69208.jpg)
In an uncompromising statement, the bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Bukavu, in the far east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), denounce the failure of the government to face up to the challenges with which it is confronted.
Read more![Nigerian Catholics shocked by public admission of religious discrimination in Kaduna](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/648a59ed340c4-ACN-20190320-85564_2.jpg)
In a video, the former governor of Kaduna state admits that his party benefits Muslim communities and does not need the Christian vote. Angered by this stance, Catholic priests have demanded that the current governor distance himself from his predecessor.
Read more![Nigerian priest calls for beatification of Pentecost Sunday attack victims](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64796be35fec6-ACN-20220614-129340 (1).jpg)
One year after the attack on St. Francis Xavier church in Ondo, Nigeria, none of the culprits have been brought to justice. Victims wear their scars as “badges of honour” and their faith is as strong as ever.
Read more![Ethiopia: Give peace a chance](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64700b1daf308-ACN-20230525-147109.jpg)
An Indian bishop has issued an impassioned plea for the resumption of talks between the government and rebel forces aimed at ending a conflict that has cost hundreds of lives and displaced tens of thousands of people.
Read more![Brazil: “I had bishops in tears, thanking me for the support they get from ACN”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/646f01ab71657-ACN-20230522-146923.jpg)
ACN had a stand at the latest meeting of the Bishops’ Conference of Brazil, the largest Catholic country in the world.
Read more![Pakistani bishop calls for better security after policeman kills two girls at Catholic school](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/646da14ee09e3-ACN-20230523-146965_size.jpg)
The attack, which left five other children and one adult wounded, took place on 16 May in a Catholic school in Sangota, in the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, in north-eastern Pakistan.
Read more![Nigeria: “Religion should unite, not divide”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/646ab3b027f8d-ACN-20170328-52327.jpg)
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.
Read more![“Everyone has family in Khartoum:” South-Sudanese prepare to host refugees from Sudan](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6465a28f74b1f-ACN-20220510-128045.jpg)
At least 500 people have died and thousands have fled, seeking safety in other countries, including Ethiopia, Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan.
Read more![Egyptian martyrs become a symbol of ecumenism and friendship between Orthodox and Catholics](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6464322cb19f1-ACN-20151009-30447.jpg)
Egyptian martyrs remembered by both Orthodox and Catholics.
Read more![India: In West Bengal the flock thrives due to the attention of its shepherds](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6462f9c89d1fd-ACN-20230515-146358.jpg)
“I came back happy”, says Barbara Rettig, ACN's head of projects for part of India, as she returned from a trip to West Bengal. “I saw a joyful and hopeful Church... Over there, I felt that faith is joy. People go to Mass. Churches are full.”
Read more![Bishop Kyrillos never stopped working to strengthen cooperation between Egyptians](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/645d81ca1a99d-ACN-20200128-96575.jpg)
Bishop Kyrillos William Samaan was a good friend of ACN and a frequent guest of the international and national offices. He never ceased to intercede for Christians in need, and will no doubt continue to do so.
Read more![Radical Hindus aim to divide and conquer, says Indian bishop](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/645d7c5a90586-ACN-20230321-142993.jpg)
With inter-religious conflicts in Manipur recently killing over 50 people, an Indian bishop says that the Church is concerned at growing radicalism.
Read more![Colombia: Being the compassionate face of God for migrants](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/645c5e2394376-ACN-20230509-145845.jpg)
Every day hundreds of people arrive at Necoclí beach, in the Colombian Caribbean.
Read more![SIERRA LEONE: Sisters take hope to one of the poorest countries in the world](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/645c574225986-ACN-20230508-145585.jpg)
Sister Gianna has a smile on her face as she speaks about her mission in Kambia, a place with no electricity, or any other basic services.
Read more![Sudan: As fighting erupts, priests stay with their flocks](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/645882f20a479-ACN-20170825-60278.jpg)
Priests in war-torn Sudan are remaining to tend to their flocks despite the conflict escalating across Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, and throughout the Darfur region.
Read more![“Without Christians there will be no peace or harmony in Lebanon”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6454510fbde83-ACN-20220714-131093 (2).jpg)
ACN supports the formation of seminarians all over the world. In Lebanon this is about more than just preparing men to be good priests; it has to do with guaranteeing a peaceful future for the country, and a stable environment for Christians to thrive.
Read more![Democratic Republic of Congo: A priest in prison](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6451ca9f062ee-ACN-20230308-142343.jpg)
In the extreme conditions of the Congolese prison system, a priest is struggling to protect inmates from hunger and despair. ACN reports from the central prison in Bukavu on the work of the Church among these otherwise abandoned people.
Read more![Burkina Faso: “Evil will not have the last word”, says priest about violence against Christians in his country](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/644b497a8a942-ACN-20230426-144942.jpg)
Churches have to be guarded so that Christians can pray in safety.
Read more![ICELAND: Sister Selestina drives for hours to meet Catholics, to keep them from falling away from the Church](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6449dd5677df3-ACN-20230424-144702.jpg)
Nominally, the vast majority of Icelanders belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland.
Read more![Syria: Successors to kidnapped bishops live in hope](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6448b2aba8a39-ACN-20210423-112314.jpg)
Ephrem Maalouli & Archbishop Boutros Kassis, who lead the Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox communities in Aleppo, insist that Christians live in hope & continue to feel the presence of their two predecessors who were abducted by Islamist militants.
Read more![Sudan: “We can’t leave the house, and there is lack of water, electricity and food” - ACN asks for prayers](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6445bfab001b1-ACN-20200622-102474_size.jpg)
On Saturday fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a legalised paramilitary group.
Read more![Venezuela: Despite difficulties, the Church is alive, united and joyful](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/644202069cdd4-ACN-20230420-144592.jpg)
“Venezuela has become a country of contradictions. Despite the economic and social crisis, there have been recent openings of casinos and luxury car dealerships”, says Luis Vildoso, head of projects for Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), in the country.
Read more![Pakistan: Problem of abduction of Christian girls grows worse every day](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6440a98ad47ab-ACN-20211117-119750.jpg)
The Head of the Justice Commission sees little progress in religious freedom.
Read more![A dark Holy Week in Nigeria, as Fulani herdsmen slaughter dozens of IDPs](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64363822cef5d-ACN-20220127-123305_2.jpg)
The latest case of violence carried out against mostly Christian farmers in central Nigeria left at least 35 dead in Africa's most populous country.
Read more![Churches in the Holy Land warn of rise in anti-Christian incidents](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/643635351c16e-ACN-20200217-97188 (2).jpg)
Attacks on churches, schools, and cemeteries are worrying the Christians of the Holy Land.
Read more![RWANDA: Forgiveness is a power given by God](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/642cc566960bd-ACN-20230329-143496.jpg)
How the Church is helping to re-integrate those imprisoned for genocide against the Tutsis.
Read more![Papua New Guinea: “People suffer greatly in the jungle, they have nothing”, says young priest](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/642a68430164a-ACN-20230329-143456.jpg)
“Papua New Guinea is a distant and mostly forgotten country”, Father Martín Prado, from Argentina, told ACN during a recent visit to the foundation’s headquarters in Germany.
Read more![“We want to be treated as Iraqi citizens, because we are people of this country”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64251d9268459-ACN-20210310-110971.jpg)
Twenty years after the fall of the regime led by Saddam Hussein, Christians in Iraq continue to fight for the right to be treated as equal citizens and to live their faith free from persecution. Pope Francis’ visit was a landmark of hope in this pursuit.
Read more![Christian leader demands to be treated justly, fairly and with equity](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/642379a53810e-ACN-20230130-139615 (1).jpg)
Bola Ahmed Tinubu 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.
Read more![Haiti: Head of the Clerics of Saint Viator describes kidnapping of priest as “outrageous”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/642106b8844fb-ACN-20220203-123705.jpg)
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 23 March.
Read moreA moving tribute to Father Imad Daher, who died in the 6 February earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, written by a childhood friend.
Read more![Nigeria: If it wasn’t for the faith, many victims would have turned to revenge, says priest](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/641274331e7bb-ACN-20221219-138063.jpg)
“We ask our leaders: Why do you allow your citizens to be killed?”
Read more![Pope Francis, 10 years standing by persecuted Christians](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/640ff5ddb1a90-ACN-20230206-140016.jpg)
The Holy Father met this past Wednesday with two young Nigerian Christians victims of jihadist persecution.
Read more![Green light to rebuild quake-hit houses](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/640e7010569e4-ACN-20230213-140520.jpg)
Churches in Syria are pressing ahead with projects to repair homes hit by last month’s devastating earthquakes that affected southern Turkey and northern Syria, claiming the lives of more than 50,000 people.
Read more![CHILE: Another church burned to the ground to the dismay of the local community](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/640e651f46b42-ACN-20160630-43140.jpg)
At around midnight on Saturday, 4 March, eight masked and armed men arrived at the chapel of Our Lady of Rays, in the village of California, Araucanía, central Chile, and set it alight.
Read more![Nicaragua’s Way of the Cross](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/64081de367db6-ACN-20210630-114558 (1).jpg)
“As long as we can get on our knees and raise our hands in prayer to God, we shall not be paralysed by fear.”
Read more![SYRIA: ACN begins project to help pay rent of victims who cannot return to their homes](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6406beb698442-ACN-20230221-141341 (1).jpg)
Three weeks after the earthquake there are still dozens of people sheltering in churches and Church-run schools in Aleppo.
Read more![Boko Haram victims to be greeted by Pope Francis](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6406b750c17e7-ACN-20221111-136204.jpg)
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, on 8 March, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has invited two Nigerian Christians to visit Italy.
Read more![Religious Freedom: Biden pressured to designate Nigeria a “country of particular concern”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6406b010c450a-ACN-20230302-142039.jpg)
Fate of Nigeria’s Christians tops agenda of International Religious Freedom summit.
Read more![Pakistani Catholic escapes forced conversion to Islam](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63ffd3fed6adb-ACN-20221215-137917.jpg)
For years ACN has been highlighting the suffering of women, teenagers and young adults subjected to abduction and forced conversion. Many cases go unknown, but shocking testimonies like the story of Kinza Sindhu (14) show the urgency of this topic.
Read more![Bishops call on Nigerians to vote “en masse” and “reject evil” in general elections](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63fd3322aa755-ACN-20190320-85563.jpg)
As Africa’s most populous country continues to face a number of challenges and threats, ACN will be dedicating its Lent campaign to Nigeria.
Read more![Syria: Aleppo trembles again, as the Church doubles down on efforts to help the population](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63f6a33c3289f-ACN-20230221-141257_2.jpg)
“We are well, thank God, all well. It was frightening, very strong. There is much fear, that is the general feeling, in some cases even panic. And there is good reason to be afraid.”
Read more![Nicaragua: ACN deeply concerned with the situation of the Church and the sentencing of Bishop Rolando Álvarez to 26 years in prison](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63f69dc1a8212-ACN-20190410-86495.jpg)
The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) calls for prayers for the Church in Nicaragua and for the Nicaraguan bishop who was convicted of treason on 10 February.
Read more![Lebanon: Demonstrators set fire to banks Church also affected by currency collapse](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63f3fa27bfc55-ACN-20230217-140854_3.jpg)
Protestors firebombed several banks in the Christian quarter of Badaro, a suburb of Beirut, on Thursday 16 February. The unrest occurred after 10 days of strike during which the banks refused to open their doors.
Read more![ACN has directly helped more than 15,000 Ukrainians since the full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63f3f65279c4e-ACN-20230216-140795.jpg)
Aid to the Church in Need benefactors contributed nearly 15 million AUD over 290 different projects all over Ukraine. A large part of this aid supports those who are dedicated to working with the most needy, thereby benefitting countless others.
Read more![Cuba: Papal envoy Cardinal Stella highlights Church’s work with the sick, elderly and poor](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63f3efd29c231-ACN-20230216-140731 copy.jpg)
Cardinal Beniamino Stella, Pope Francis’ envoy to the 25th anniversary celebration of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Cuba, has asked the regime to free activists who were detained in anti-government protests in July 2021.
Read more![Syria: Testimonies from Aleppo](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63ed70a275e1c-ACN-20230214-140604.jpg)
Following the devastating earthquakes on 6 February, ACN has reached out to our project partners in Syria. Here's what they have to say.
Read more![“Almost 80% of Ukrainians need help to overcome trauma”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63ed611ae780b-ACN-20220317-125797.jpg)
As the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine completes its first year, two major figures in the country’s Catholic Church speak about how the war has affected the country and the Church, and their hopes for a post-war Ukraine.
Read more![“There are almost no signs of an international response. The world must not forget Syria”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63eace409fe0e-ACN-20230213-140525.jpg)
During a visit to the regions affected by the earthquake, the Apostolic Nuncio to Syria says that he saw “a sea of pain”.
Read more![Syria: “Less than one minute was worse than 12 years of war”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63e2f82e7254c-ACN-20230206-139956.jpeg)
Shocked and with their houses destroyed or damaged, many families have taken to sleeping in churches, convents, or even hospitals. Faced with yet another tragedy, Syrians ask for an end to sanctions.
Read more![South Sudan. “If I meet the Pope, I’ll thank him for bringing us hope”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63e18c60e9b68-ACN-20230202-139828.jpg)
Sister Beta Almendra, a Portuguese Comboni missionary in Wau, South Sudan, can hardly hide her excitement at the visit of Pope Francis, which began on Friday, 3 February.
Read more![FRANCE: Tribute to the martyrs of 2022](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63e180e1e9df1-dsc-0186-1-1024x683.webp)
Aid to the Church in Need has just completed its 14th session of The Night of Witnesses, a series of prayer vigils organised in five French towns to pay tribute to all the priests and religious killed during the year because of their faith.
Read more![Pope visits Congo and South Sudan, where the Church plays a major role in peacebuilding](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63e17a8ee6872-ACN-20220510-128048.jpg)
On 31 January Pope Francis landed in Kinshasa for a short visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He departed for Juba, South Sudan, on 3 February, and then back to Rome on 5 February.
Read more![Nigeria. Thousands gather for moving tribute to Fr Isaac Achi “The Lord found Fr Achi worthy of suffering with Jesus”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63d86a5006b4e-ACN-20230124-139414.jpg)
Fr Isaac Azekpili Achi was brutally murdered on January 15, when his home in Kafin Koro was attacked by unidentified armed men. After forcing their way into the residence, the criminals shot Fr Isaac and wounded his colleague, Fr Collins.
Read more![Jihadist attack in Spain: “Officials and public opinion cannot ignore” rise in religious hatred](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63d86606048d4-Perpetual_help_original_icon.jpg)
ACN had recently cooperated with the parish in which church warden Diego Valencia was murdered
Read more![DR Congo: “The silence of the international community angers us”, says priest following attack on church](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63d8575150d23-ACN-20221024-135366.jpeg)
Only days after a terrorist attack on a Protestant church in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Marcelo Oliveira, a Combonian who works as a missionary in the African country, denounced the silence of the international community.
Read more![New convent in Batnaya beckons Christians to return to Iraq](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63d84f8279263-ACN-20230117-139002.jpg)
“We must have faith to rebuild the village, and you are a sign of that faith”, Archbishop Thabet told dozens of Dominican sisters gathered for the inauguration of their new Convent of Saint Joseph.
Read more![Priest murdered in attack on parish in Northern Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63c4a13f7ad91-ACN-20220127-123305 (10).jpg)
Fr Isaac Achi was reportedly burned by unknown gunmen, and his assistant Fr Colins Omeh sustained gunshot wounds. Reports also emerged of the kidnapping of another priest in Southern Nigeria this Sunday.
Read more![Syria: from prisoner, threatened with death, to Archbishop](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63cf0fe0be020-ACN-20180119-66919 (1).jpg)
Jacques Mourad lived as a prisoner of the Islamic State for five months before managing to escape to freedom. Now he has been appointed Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Homs.
Read more![Amazonian indigenous community can now read the Bible in its own language](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63c099f84dce9-ACN-20230105-138525_2.jpg)
The new Sateré language edition of ACN’s Child Bible is more than an instrument for deepening the faith, it also helps preserve the indigenous people’s language and culture.
Read more![Burkina Faso: “50% of our territory is under occupation”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63be192c1a17d-ACN-20200310-98267.jpg)
Burkina Faso has seen an unprecedented increase in terrorism since 2015 and on 2 January a priest was murdered in the northwest of the country.
Read more![“No peace without religious freedom”, says Pope](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63bca075dc882-ACN-20221124-136713.jpg)
During his traditional speech to diplomats, Pope Francis warned of increasing intolerance towards Christians even in countries where they are not a minority.
Read more![Attack on Christian villages causes more unrest in northern Mozambique](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63bc9c31263f1-ACN-20210315-111139.jpg)
A recent attack on two Christian villages in northern Mozambique left two people dead and four injured and caused unrest among the local population, with many people leaving their homes in search of safety.
Read more![Father Jacques Yaro Zerbo, a 66-year-old priest, was killed by terrorists in Burkina Faso](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63bc9abeb2827-ACN-20230105-138530.jpg)
May he rest in peace!
Read more![Over 100 priests and religious sisters kidnapped, arrested or killed in 2022](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63bb99f074c51-ACN-20191108-93657 (1).jpg)
At least 12 priests and five religious sisters were murdered during 2022. Nigeria was one of the most dangerous countries in which to serve the Church, but China, in Asia, and Nicaragua, in Latin America, also had many cases of harassment.
Read more![Senegal: 40 years of conflict in the Casamance region](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63a5126d254a2-ACN-20190305-84790.jpg)
On 1 January, World Day of Prayer for Peace, the bishop brings together leaders to call for an end to the conflict.
Read more![Lebanon: With Catholic schools in “survival mode”, ACN helps keep the mission alive](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63a3a00726d1c-ACN-20220805-131958.jpg)
Teachers in Lebanon recognise that education is not a job, but a mission. But this mission is getting more and more difficult to achieve as the country continues in its downward spiral of economic crisis.
Read more![Syria: “May the Lord forgive them, that is all I can say”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63a29e5a9594c-ACN-20221216-138015.jpg)
Mary, Mother of Reconciliation, is a model for Syrian Christians.
Read more![Deep in crisis, Sri Lankans will focus on helping the poor this Christmas](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63a297e64b648-ACN-20221219-138068.jpg)
The bishops of Sri Lanka have asked the faithful to avoid lavish celebrations this Christmas, as the country faces an uphill struggle after mismanagement led to economic disaster.
Read more![In Pakistan, healing for victims of abduction and forced marriage](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/639f9bef632b1-ACN-20221215-137919.jpg)
More than 30 organizations, including the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, supported by ACN, have urged the government to assess data on incidents of forced conversion and present it to Parliament.
Read more![Solidarity with the Christians of Lebanon and Syria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/639a75492adb1-ACN-20190726-89683 (1).jpg)
Faced with the dramatic situation in Lebanon and Syria, the international foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has launched a Christmas campaign for emergency assistance to support Christian communities in these two countries.
Read more![In spite of everything, “it is a privilege to live in the Holy Land”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/639a64b32daff-ACN-20200217-97211.jpg)
The Christians of the Holy Land are preparing to celebrate Christmas, more than 2000 years after the birth of Christ.
Read more![Lebanon: “People in Tyre were always poor, but now they are below zero”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/638fe54d4a1b9-ACN-20220706-130401.jpg)
One of the many projects ACN funds in Lebanon.
Read more![The Immaculate Heart of Mary and the suffering people of Lebanon](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/638e6e7a50c71-ACN-20200930-105203_2.jpg)
Meditation by Sr Noha from the Borj-Hammoud Nabaa clinic in Lebanon.
Read more![Lebanon: “Catholic Schools are the right hand of the Church, but we desperately need your help”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63869baa6e103-ACN-20220805-131971.jpg)
Father Youssef Nasr (President of the Secretariat for Catholic schools in Lebanon) recently spoke with ACN about the challenges facing the schools as the country’s severe economic crisis persists.
Read more![Archbishop Balvo, Apostolic Nuncio to Australia, supports Red Wednesday](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6380471d014c8-ACN-20221124-136717.jpg)
The Apostolic Nuncio to Australia, Archbishop Charles Balvo, has sent a message of support for the Red Wednesday initiative, organised by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) to call attention to victims of religious persecution.
Read more![Christian students in Lebanon under pressure to leave: “We feel our country doesn’t want us”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/638037cde2c28-ACN-20220714-131062.jpg)
For many Lebanese Christian students, the University Pastoral service is a lifeline that keeps them in the country, when everything around them seems to give them reasons to give up.
Read more![RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: Night of the Witnesses honours Christianity’s modern-day martyrs](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/638033cda283d-IMG-5620.jpg)
Australia’s capital has joined a select list of cities that have hosted Night of the Witnesses, an Aid to the Church in Need initiative that honours Christianity’s modern-day martyrs and those persecuted because of their faith.
Read moreGrowing insecurity risks dividing the country, say the Church leaders, pointing to multiple regions where violence has flared and also taking aim at multinational corporations that pillage natural resources.
Read more![Boko Haram did “the unthinkable” to her, but Janada refused to be defeated](https://acntcs.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/fileman/6374555d0459e-ACN-20221111-136204_2.jpg)
The terrorist organisation took her father’s life and tried to crush her soul, but with the help of ACN through a Trauma Center in Maiduguri she is back on her feet and even found the strength to forgive those who caused her so much pain.
Read more![Young Christians from all over Syria hopeful for the future: “I want to stay in my country!”](https://acntcs.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/fileman/637452cca1a91-ACN-20221102-135975.jpg)
Before the war, Syria had a vibrant and stable Christian community, but 12 years of conflict and economic crisis forced many to flee.
Read more![“The Pope’s visit will be a source of joy in a country where children still suffer from hunger”](https://acntcs.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/fileman/63744e45a7a16-ACN-20200728-103499_2.jpg)
The announcement that the Holy Father is considering a visit to South Sudan, to take place in February next year, was received “with much joy” by the local Catholic community, says sister Beta Almendra, a missionary in Wau.
Read more![Terrorism gains ground in Burkina Faso as Jihadists set their sights on priests and religious](https://acntcs.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/fileman/637449be950c3-ACN-20221027-135688.jpg)
Several weeks after the second military coup took place in Ouagadougou on 30 September, the people continue to be sceptical about the country’s future, particularly with respect to Christians, a group that is greatly at risk.
Read more![“Syrians too poor to pay for surgery or operations”, says Aleppo bishop](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/636853be06c58-ACN-20210311-111004.jpg)
During a recent visit to the headquarters of ACN, in Germany, Melkite Archbishop Georges Masri, of Aleppo, described the serious crisis that is affecting both the population’s health and the Church’s pastoral work.
Read more![First Catholic radio in Bulgaria inaugurated with the help of Aid to the Church in Need](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63631b16917a5-ACN-20221026-135604.jpg)
Cardinal Sandri: “What was a dream is now a reality!”
Read more![Cameroon: Group of nine kidnapped in attack on Catholic Church released after six weeks](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/635b4bcfcb89a-ACN-20221024-135362.jpg)
The Bishop of Mamfe has expressed his gratitude for the release of the priests, laypeople, and a religious sister, but has repeated his condemnation of the attack on the church in which they were taken by rebels.
Read more![Nine years in the hands of Boko Haram:“Words cannot do justice for what I suffered”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6355ccd7d9509-ACN-20221019-135037.jpg)
Two months ago, Maryamu Joseph (16) escaped from Boko Haram after being held for nine years.
Read more![Pope thanks boys and girls who will participate in ACN prayer campaign](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/634df38820f55-ACN-20220930-134266.jpg)
“One million children praying the Rosary” will take place on 18 October. Pope Francis asks that participants especially remember Ukraine, and all other countries that suffer from war and misery.
Read more![Nigerian bishop calls for end of “conspiracy of silence” on persecution of Christians](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/634c8c90dfb55-ACN-20221014-134944.jpg)
Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe, of the Diocese of Makurdi, spoke at an event in the European Parliament saying that Christians in Nigeria need help, “before it becomes too late”.
Read more![Haiti: Churches and institutions attacked as the country suffers violence](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6348f191c6d20-ACN-20190402-86235 (4).jpg)
“The Church has become a victim of the violence”, says Sister Marcela Catozza, a missionary in Haiti. The Italian nun claims that the situation has taken a turn for the worse since June, with churches and institutions coming under attack.
Read more![When the crisis hit Lebanon, a Christian school just doubled down on its mission](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/633e0fcfe7954-ACN-20220714-131076.jpg)
For many Christians in Lebanon technical schools provide opportunities for future employment and a stable environment for local families.
Read more![Disease, debt, discrimination and ruined crops in aftermath of Pakistan floods](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/633b64f4c0c86-ACN-20220926-134083_2.jpg)
Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad cannot shake the images from his visit to the flood-affected Catholic village of Mariamnagar, in southern Sindh province.
Read more![Restored church gives hope to Christians who want to stay in Iraq](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6334e3cec8c8b-ACN-20220928-134141.jpg)
With a long experience of persecution, the Christians of Baghdeda (Qaraqosh) know that the bad times might return, but they believe that “a Church that is not persecuted is a Church that does not carry Christ”.
Read more![Pakistan: “There is a blessing for those who touch the Word of God”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63326cd8ccc84-ACN-20220308-125317.jpg)
On September 30, the Church celebrates the memory of Saint Jerome, a doctor of the Church who translated the Bible into Latin.
Read more![Mozambique terrorism: Church wants to be part of the solution, says bishop](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/632d0e6e0f9a8-ACN-20210915-116649 (2).jpg)
In the wake of the murder of an Italian nun, the Bishop of Pemba, where the Islamist insurgency began, says that poverty and corruption are at the root of the problem.
Read more![Cameroon: “What happened is an abomination. They are trying the patience of God”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/632aa0fa98f8a-ACN-20220920-133854.jpeg)
The Bishop of Mamfe asks for prayers for the release of nine kidnapped religious and laypeople.
Read more![Church leaders in Pakistan warn of famine and epidemics](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/632912a0b8302-ACN-20220902-132960_2.jpg)
Pakistanis are grateful for Church help as the worst flooding in 30 years leaves many citizens with nothing.
Read more![Maronite Patriarch laments political stalemate in meeting with head of ACN](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6322b5d2a6170-ACN-20220912-133433.jpg)
Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai compared Lebanon to a sick person who refuses treatment and so continues to get worse. Action is required, he claims, if the country is to continue to fulfil its prophetic role in the Middle East.
Read more![Syria: Pilgrimage of the icon ‘Our Lady of Sorrows, Consoler of Syrians’, blessed by Pope Francis, comes to an end](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63216faf26754-ACN-20191218-95336 (1).jpg)
Thursday 15 September, Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, will mark the end of the “Console your People” initiative, to beg for peace in Syria and for the protection of all Christians in that country, which was promoted by ACN.
Read more![Pope Francis visits Kazakhstan](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63216dad816c6-ACN-20220909-133352 (1).jpg)
“How can we keep the spirit of Assisi alive?” asks Almaty bishop.
Read more![Pakistan: ACN joins effort to help victims of worst floods in 30 years](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/631ea77f5b724-ACN-20220902-132961_size (1).jpg)
With over a thousand dead, and many more in great need, the Church has mobilised to help victims of flooding in Pakistan.
Read more![Fear in Mozambique after murder of a Catholic nun in Nacala diocese](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/631e988ce4bca-ACN-20220908-133230.jpg)
On the night of Tuesday 6 September an Italian religious sister, aged 83, was brutally murdered in an armed attack on the Chipene mission in the diocese of Nacala.
Read more![PAKISTAN: ACN to help flood victims](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6316dbe7a30d0-ACN-20220902-132978.jpg)
Pakistan flood victims are to receive help from ACN in response to dire calls for emergency support.
Read more![Iraq: Gathering the youth in hope](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6311770511087-ACN-20220901-132918.jpg)
More than 1,700 young people from all corners of Iraq are converging for the largest Christian youth festival of its kind to be held in the country.
Read more![“The faith is the most precious treasure”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63116a642ff2d-ACN-20210401-111658_2.jpg)
The international ecclesiastical assistant of ACN talks about the focus areas of the charity.
Read more![“Faith, not guns, is what will save us”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/630d8d6347ed7-ACN-20211008-117798_size.jpg)
During a visit to the international headquarters of ACN, in Germany, Father Honoré Quedraogo, a priest from the diocese of Tenkodogo, in east-central Burkina Faso, spoke of the situation his country is currently facing.
Read more![ACN calls for prayers for Nicaragua: “We are witnessing an attempt to silence the Church in Nicaragua”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/630c1f10a8e91-ACN-20210630-114558.jpg)
In light of the situation facing the Church in Nicaragua ACN wishes to express its fraternity, friendship and communion in regard to the sad and painful situation suffered by the clergy and the whole Church in Nicaragua.
Read more![Malawi: "We want to reach out to every single person in the diocese"](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6305c49b10f95-ACN-20220707-130542_2.jpg)
During a visit to the headquarters of pontifical charity ACN, Bishop Martin Mtumbuka, of the Diocese of Karonga, in Malawi, highlights the vibrancy of the African Church, and speaks about both the success stories and the struggles of the young diocese.
Read more![Assault on Coptic Christian woman in Egypt goes unpunished](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/63030569e84d9-ACN-20211103-119017_2.jpg)
22 August - International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief.
Read more![“I lost hope in Lebanese politics, but I have hope in the people”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6303030bb1d7c-ACN-20201016-105994 (1).jpg)
Jules Boutros is the youngest bishop in the world.
Read more![Christian minor escapes forced conversion in Pakistan](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62fd757ecf63d-ACN-20220808-132063_size.jpg)
22nd August - International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief.
Read more![“A modest and courageous leader,” ACN remembers Mons. George Jonathan Dodo, Bishop of Zaria, in Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62f0491ca7808-ACN-20220805-132057.jpg)
Bishop George died aged 66, of illness, on 8 July, and was buried on 4 August.
Read more![Abuja under terrorist attacks: Archbishop of Nigerian capital decries insecurity and inequality](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62ec939f15c6b-ACN-20200302-97701.jpg)
With violent actions now taking place in and around Abuja, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama assesses the situation as very serious and accuses politicians of being distant from the people.
Read more![Nigeria: “We are weak, tired and scared. We hope God will fight for us”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62ec8ef094217-ACN-20220803-131827_size.jpg)
On the morning of June 19, dozens of armed members of the Fulani tribe descended on two churches in Rubuh, Kajuru Local Government Area, in southern Kaduna State.
Read more![Nigeria: “We have never experienced what we are experiencing now”, says Bishop of Maiduguri](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62e35bee9f3da-ACN-20150410-22873 (2).jpg)
Bishop Oliver Doeme’s diocese suffered the worst of the terrorism inflicted by Boko Haram, yet he says that now this part of the country can be considered peaceful in comparison to the rest.
Read more![Fr Jacques Hamel: an example of simplicity and authenticity](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62df433771036-ACN-20220725-131358.jpg)
The sixth anniversary of the murder of the French priest at the hand of jihadists.
Read more![Burkina Faso: Islamic terrorism has become commonplace](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62de0d664a1cb-ACN-20200310-98300 (1).jpg)
Over 90% of the villages in the Diocese of Fada N’Gourma are no longer covered by pastoral support.
Read more![Another priest killed in Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62d8b8d55e79c-ACN-20220720-131272_size.jpg)
Father Mark Cheitnum was deeply engaged in giving a voice to the innocent victims of violence in his diocese. He is the fourth priest to be murdered in Nigeria in 2022.
Read more![Nigeria: More than 60 Christians killed over two months in the state of Benue](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62d7658962e66-ACN-20190402-86235 (3).jpg)
Aid to the Church in a Need “has been a source of light in a valley of darkness”, says Bishop Wilfred Anagbe.
Read more![ACN to send emergency aid to dioceses in Sri Lanka](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62d4b0cac0b12-ACN-20200128-96643.jpg)
The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has announced a special aid package for priests and religious in Sri Lanka who are suffering the effects of a very serious economic and social crisis.
Read more![Cardinal from Madagascar insists: “We cannot let ourselves be overcome by despair and evil”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62d0fbff765f1-ACN-20220519-128353.jpg)
During a recent visit to the headquarters of the international charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Cardinal Désiré Tsarahazana, Archbishop of Toamasina, Madagascar, insisted on the need to hold on to hope, so as to overcome evil.
Read more![Kidnappings and forced conversions are “a human rights issue,” says Pakistani archbishop](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62cf920ab194b-ACN-20211104-119080_3.jpg)
The issue of kidnappings and forced conversions of minors belonging to the Christian community and other religious minorities in Pakistan, is a serious problem that the world cannot ignore, says Archbishop Sebastian Shaw, of Lahore.
Read more![One year after the 11 July protests in Cuba: “The worst poverty is lack of freedom”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62ce3061b817d-ACN-20190909-91288.jpg)
It has been one year since the historic peaceful protests in Cuba, which took place on 11 July, mobilising millions of people all across the Caribbean nation.
Read more![“Priests have become an endangered species in Nigeria”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62ccb8ad9937e-ACN-20200302-97698.jpg)
Facing a wave of kidnappings, murders, and violence, Nigerian priests shun violence as an answer and call on prayer.
Read more![Catholics in Guinea-Bissau unsettled by vandalism of a church](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62cb95c373cb4-ACN-20220708-130666 (1).jpg)
In the first such incident in the country’s history, several images were destroyed in a church that had recently been rebuilt with the help of ACN.
Read moreAn Archbishop and Sister from the Middle East issued a stark warning to UK Parliamentarians that Christians in the region are still suffering persecution.
Read more![From Nigeria and Pakistan, two voices cry out for justice and religious freedom](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62c621bc1a946-ACN-20220705-130183.jpg)
A Nigerian Bishop in mourning travelled to the United States crying out for justice for his country’s persecuted Christians.
Read more![Burkina Faso: Murdered in front of their church](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62c4f1cdcd4b3-ACN-20211007-117690 (1).jpg)
The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) denounces yet another terrorist attack in Burkina Faso. During the night of 3 to 4 July, more than 20 Burkinabè were killed during an attack in Bourasso, in the Diocese of Nouna (north-west).
Read more![ACN Message of condolences on the death of Cardinal Cláudio Hummes](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62c4edc423c59-ACN-20220705-130157.jpg)
Aid to the Church in Need farewells a dear friend.
Read more![“We have a treasure and a mission in the Middle East”, says young bishop](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62c4e95e71ed9-ACN-20220701-130024.jpg)
When young people tell him that they want to leave Lebanon, bishop Jules Boutros tries to remind them that money, safety and education may be important, but only Jesus Christ is indispensable, and that they are needed back home.
Read more![Three more priests kidnapped in Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62c36e9734652-ACN-20190402-86235 (1).jpg)
The most recent kidnappings come a week after the murder of two priests in this African country that has been rocked by criminality.
Read more![Nicaragua leads in cases of religious persecution in Latin America](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62c225be476d4-ACN-20190122-82733_size.jpg)
The Catholic Church in Nicaragua has suffered over 190 attacks and desecrations in less than four years, as well as persecution of clergy by the regime of president Daniel Ortega, according to a research paper that was sent to ACN.
Read more![Bishop shocked with murder of priests in Nigeria: “Nobody is safe anymore”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62be3de58a5e8-ACN-20220620-129430 (2).jpg)
Fr Vitus Borogo and Fr Christopher Odia were murdered in apparent botched kidnapping attempts. Nigeria continues to be beset by criminality, and many priests have been targeted by bandits.
Read more![Bangladesh: building churches is a big challenge due to lack of means](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62bb9dd98faa6-ACN-20220222-124669.jpg)
Solomon Hasdak was shocked to see hundreds of people trying to cram inside the small chapel of the village where he grew up.
Read more![Mexico: shooting of two Jesuits Priests](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62b90f7adbe30-ACN-20220623-129774 (1).jpg)
Their death raises the number of murdered priests in the past three years to seven.
Read more![Aid to families: Supporting the Church from the base up](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62b5359ca426e-ACN-20210203-109755_size (2).jpg)
As thousands gather in Rome for the World Meeting of Families, ACN takes stock of some of the work it has been doing in the field of promoting and safeguarding family life, in different parts of the world.
Read more![Terrorists strike again in northern Mozambique as ACN increases aid](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62b5063363161-ACN-20210915-116649_2.jpg)
With the newly installed bishop of Pemba asking the world not to forget about the situation which has left over four thousand dead and 800 thousand people displaced, ACN has committed to a new emergency support package for IDPs.
Read more![A gift that comes from sacrifice, and recycled love](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62b3da59afbd9-ACN-20220406-126770.jpeg)
On 24 June ACN celebrated Benefactors’ Day.
Read more![Congolese saddened by cancellation, but sympathetic to Pope’s pain](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62b267734d0d6-ACN-20220621-129607.jpg)
“Postponed, not cancelled, that’s the key word,” says Maxime François-Marsal, head of projects for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Read more![Pentecost Sunday Nigeria: 39 Catholics killed, more than 80 injured](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62b1122fca5d1-ACN-20220614-129342_2.jpg)
The stories behind the numbers.
Read more![ACN steps up its support for beleaguered Christians in Syria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62aac9361f3bb-ACN-20220321-125917_2.jpg)
22 new projects have been approved for funding in Syria, a country that remains very close to the heart of the Catholic Church, as has been repeatedly expressed by Pope Francis, but where Christians are finding it increasingly difficult to survive.
Read more![Attack turns Pentecost Mass into bloodbath: “I shielded them as a hen shields her chicks”, Nigerian priest recalls](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62aa922e66495-ACN-20220614-129337.jpg)
Father Andrew Adeniyi Abayomi is the associate pastor at St Francis Xavier church in Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria, which was hit by a terror attack during Mass on Pentecost Sunday, June 5.
Read more![In wake of the Pentecost massacre, Nigerian priest calls “on anybody who can, to assist us with the investigation on the ground” to discover the truth](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62a154f6d7de4-ACN-20220127-123305 (6).jpg)
There is still no information on the culprits for the killing of dozens of people who were attending Mass on Pentecost Sunday in Owo, in the Diocese of Ondo in Nigeria.
Read more![ACN statement about the Pentecost massacre in St. Francis Xavier Church in Owo, Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/629fefc3c841d-ACN-20200302-97711.jpg)
ACN is deeply shocked by the horrific attack which took place at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in southwest Nigeria during Pentecost Sunday celebrations which caused the death of many people, including children.
Read more![The Government has failed us in Nigeria, and the West is complicit](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/629971105f28e-ACN-20170328-52315 (1).jpg)
Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, of the Diocese of Kaduna, complains that there is no religious freedom in the north of the country, but dismisses the idea that the conflict between Fulani herdsmen and farmers is a religious issue.
Read more![In Syria and Lebanon, “the sisters go to the dark places where others cannot”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62996f02f26c2-ACN-20210930-117361.jpg)
The difficulties in Syria and Lebanon have led to an increase in situations of abuse of children and women, but are also opening up opportunities for women to take the lead in their families and communities.
Read more![Nicaragua bishop on hunger strike to protest police harassment](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/629966ab3de27-ACN-20190625-88747.jpg)
Many members of the clergy in Nicaragua have suffered for their opposition to the Government and its policies. In March, President Daniel Ortega expelled the ambassador of the Holy See.
Read more![Church in Latin America faces aggressive secularism and polarisation](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/629964f7d52e0-ACN-20220520-128391.jpg)
An analysis by ACN International, 15 years after the Aparecida Document.
Read more![ACN calls on Christians to join World Day of Prayer for the Church in China, May 24](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6287005d1264d-20080418_013.jpg)
It has been fifteen years since Pope Benedict XVI instituted the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China, which is celebrated on May 24, the feast of Mary Help of Christians, patron saint of the country.
Read more![Anti-Christian violence and curfew follow killing of girl in Sokoto, Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62846e801a6b8-ACN-20190402-86235.jpg)
Episodes of anti-Christian violence erupted in Sokoto, Nigeria, over the weekend, following the horrific murder of a young Christian student accused of blasphemy.
Read moreIsraeli security forces are accused of having disrupted the funeral procession of Shereen Abu Aqleh, who was killed while covering an Israeli military operation in the Jenin refugee camp on 11 May.
Read more![Pope is coming to encourage reconciliation, says Congo bishop](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62830609ede90-ACN-20220505-127911.jpg)
Pope Francis will be in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year, between 2-5 July. During a visit to the international headquarters of ACN, in Germany, Bishop Timothée Bodika Manyisai, of Kikwit, in midwestern DR Congo, spoke about how Catholics are pr...
Read more![NIGERIA: Student stoned and burned to death in Sokoto](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6281c49d11f9f-ACN-20220127-123305 (6).jpg)
ACN is deeply troubled by the terrible murder of Deborah Yakubu, a Christian student who was stoned and then burned at the Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, northern Nigeria.
Read more![ACN deplores murder of Fr Joseph in Kaduna, Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6281c247c848e-ACN-20220512-128176.jpg)
In one month alone three Catholic priests were kidnapped in Nigeria, two have since been released, but the death of the third has just been confirmed.
Read more![Christians look with hope and concern at Lebanon’s parliamentary elections](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6281c01741c17-ACN-20201016-105994.jpg)
On May 15, 2022, Lebanon will go to the polls to elect a new Parliament.
Read more![ACN calls on international community to help Iraq attain stability and economic development](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6281bcaa74df3-ACN-20220504-127867 (1).jpg)
After years of helping rebuild homes and infrastructure, ACN is issuing an urgent call to the international community to help guarantee peace and stability in Iraq.
Read more![“Pope’s visit will be very important for peace”, says missionary in South Sudan](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6281ac9d81504-ACN-20220510-128044.jpg)
A Combonian missionary nun living in Wau, South Sudan, believes the upcoming visit by Pope Francis to the youngest country in the world, scheduled for 5-7 July, could have a historic effect on the peace process.
Read more![Kidnapping of Fr Whatner Aupont highlights Haitian crisis](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6278a5f6ca888-20100628_022 (1).jpg)
A wave of unrest and kidnappings is causing a breakdown of national life in Haiti according to Mons Launay Saturné, Archbishop of Cap-Haïtien.
Read more![Pakistan: “I spent eight years on death row after being falsely accused of blasphemy”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62736bd8256e0-ACN-20220502-127695.jpg)
In July 2013, Shagufta and Shafqat Emmanuel, a Catholic couple in Mian Channu, a small town 155 miles south of Lahore, Pakistan, were arrested on false charges of blasphemy.
Read more![School of hope and recovery](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/626b5e580d4f8-ACN-20220427-127615.jpg)
IRAQ’S Christians will pass a momentous milestone on the way toward recovery from genocide by a community of Sisters officially opening their long-awaited school.
Read more![Church stems Christian exodus from Lebanon by helping Catholic schools](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6269dab31cfd4-ACN-20220114-122747.jpg)
Lebanon is a unique country in the Middle East because it is based on a civil constitution, where freedom of conscience and expression are respected.
Read more![Sri Lanka victims of Easter bombings ask the Pope to help them uncover the truth](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6268a6d992107-ACN-20220426-127568.jpeg)
The Holy Father has asked the authorities of Sri Lanka for the truth about the Easter Sunday bombings of 2019.
Read more![Batnaya’s Resurrection Day](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/626760e27d338-ACN-20220421-127461.jpg)
One Christian community in Iraq had added cause for rejoicing this Easter when their church opened for services for the first time since the building was desecrated by Daesh (ISIS) militants nearly eight years ago.
Read more![Interview with Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith Easter Sunday Bombings in Sri Lanka: The Unanswered Questions](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/625dfdde5377b-ACN-20190725-89591 (1).jpg)
After three years and at a cost of 2.5 million dollars, the government of Sri Lanka published an 88-volume report on the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.
Read more![ACN starts second phase of Ukraine aid](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6254cc43784d9-ACN-20220411-126898.jpg)
As the military invasion of Ukraine has reached its 46th day, the Pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has begun the second phase of its emergency aid package to the country.
Read more![The Carmelite missionary sisters in Burundi – “mothers” of reconciliation](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/625380797c7e9-ACN-20220323-126073.jpg)
Burundi, one of the smallest countries in Africa, has been going through a social and political crisis that erupted in 2015.
Read more![“What ACN is doing for the Lebanese is truly great" says Patriarch](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/624e55ad0222d-ACN-20220406-126713.jpg)
The Patriarch of the largest Christian Church in Lebanon expresses his most heartfelt gratitude to all the benefactors who make the work of ACN in this country possible.
Read more![New bishop in South Sudan: “We must get back on our feet and give hope to the people”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/624bc8bb21576-ACN-20220401-126450.jpg)
On 25 March, in the Cathedral of Rumbek, South Sudan, Italian missionary Christian Carlassare was ordained bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek, a position that had been vacant for 10 years.
Read moreTowards the end of 2021, the Nigerian government announced that members of the terrorist organisation Boko Haram were being disarmed and reintegrated into society.
Read more![Syria: “Many Christians are short of hope, but any they do find comes from the Church”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6244f81729a7f-ACN-20220317-125817.jpg)
Regina Lynch recently returned from Damascus, where she represented ACN at a conference of the Catholic Church together with aid agencies serving the people of Syria.
Read more![Sri Lanka: Cardinal asks for clarity on suspicion of political collusion in Easter Sunday bombings](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/62340e1de3488-ACN-20190722-89393.jpg)
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith says the Church waits for answers as the victims continue to carry the scars of the Easter Sunday bombings that killed 269 people in Sri Lanka and injured more than 400 in 2019.
Read more![Albania: mission and challenges of the Church in the XXI century](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/623401551cfb3-ACN-20220131-123423.jpg)
Albania’s Communist regime tried to stamp out religion completely. Decades later, the country continues to suffer from the mass emigration of its younger citizens, due to a lack of opportunities.
Read more![ACN activates emergency plan for Catholic schools in Lebanon](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/622e9149dfca0-ACN-20220114-122757.jpg)
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has announced the launching of a large-scale campaign for Catholic schools in Lebanon, to help offset the great economic crisis that has been bleeding the country’s social institutions dry.
Read more![ACN helps perpetuate the Pope’s legacy in Iraq through higher education](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/620d8254d16fe-ACN-20220214-124279.jpg)
The scholarships will allow the Catholic University in Erbil to enrol more than four times as many Christian students as it has already.
Read more![Msgr. Pasotto: a protagonist in the rebuilding of the Catholic Church in Georgia after the Communist era](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6209cab7b77e2-ACN-20211201-120334.jpg)
Interview with Msgr. Giuseppe Pasotto, a Stigmatine father from Italy, who has been watching over and helping to shape the fortunes of the small Roman Catholic Church in the Caucasus since the fall of the Iron Curtain, first as a missionary, then, since 1...
Read more![Catholic leader in Ukraine calls for end of "idolatry of violence”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6201c4049a158-ACN-20220128-123385.jpeg)
Despite difficulties and hardship, the Church promises not to abandon its faithful, whatever might happen, just as it stayed with them in Crimea and in Eastern Ukraine.
Read more![Haiti’s bishops make urgent appeal for unity](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6200817c44a28-ACN-20210816-115820 (3).jpg)
The Bishops’ Conference of Haiti has released a statement calling on political actors and armed gangs to prevent the country from falling into chaos.
Read more![Ukrainian Church sees poor through God's eyes](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6200777332ae7-ACN-20220201-123561.jpg)
Out of necessity, Viktor breaks up his floor. Now that he and his wife have no steady work, due to the war in Ukraine, he and his sons Wasiliej and Kola proceed to saw the planks into pieces for the stove to heat the house.
Read more![ACN presents three testimonies to the suffering of Christians during the “Night of Witness” in France](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61fca909d9b59-ACN-20220203-123716.jpg)
Thousands of people took part, either in person or virtually, in the Night of Witness, a series of events on the theme of persecuted Christians organised by the international Catholic pastoral charity and pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (A...
Read more![Tributes to Christian man killed in Peshawar](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61f883ceeb793-0131Pakistan.jpg)
Tributes have been paid to a Christian minister who was killed Sunday 30th January in Pakistan after dedicating his life to persecuted and other suffering Christians.
Read more![Mozambique fears the worst as tropical storm batters the country](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61f70b9d519b5-ACN-20220128-123375.jpeg)
The conflict-torn north, where hundreds of thousands of people are living in makeshift camps, is one of the areas that is being hit the hardest.
Read more![In one of the poorest regions of Lebanon, the Church sustains the soul and the body](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61f21150eefe1-ACN-20220120-123011.jpg)
Nohada lives alone in her one-room home in Addousiyyeh, in Lebanon, near the Mediterranean coast. A widow, her only son moved abroad years ago and she survives largely with the help of her neighbour Mariam, who happens to be the only Muslim in the village...
Read more![Iraqi Christians eye new year with hope and trepidation](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61ede17a38ad5-ACN-20181029-78572.jpg)
The life of Christians on Iraq’s Nineveh Plains remains precarious, even though much progress has been made in the wake of the ouster of ISIS from the region and the restoration and rebuilding of Christian homes as well as churches and church properties.
Read more![Lebanon: economic crisis threatens survival of Catholic hospital](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61ea1ec4d5399-ACN-20211206-120854 (1).jpg)
The Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross is a Catholic non-profit facility in Beirut that the economic crisis has brought to the verge of collapse.
Read more![Mozambique: The cross with a broken Christ](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61e9fda2c19ac-ACN-20211015-118133.jpg)
The crucifix in Pemba diocese before which the refugees from the violence pray.
Read more![“Violence against Christian women is a weapon in the war against religious minorities”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61e8c79a4e4b4-ACN-20220119-122946.jpg)
Co-author of ACN case study describes an increase in the number of attacks.
Read more![Catholic bishops of Kazakhstan request prayers for peace in the country](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61df625cc678f-ACN-20220112-122499.jpg)
The number of Catholics in the country is very small (one percent), but the bishops of Kazakhstan addressed various messages to the people so that - with the help of God – the current difficulties will be resolved and peace and harmony return to the count...
Read more![“Be quiet so that God may defend you” – testimony to ACN from the Colombian religious sister kidnapped in Mali](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61dbaa2454e24-ACN-20211220-121735 (1).jpg)
In an interview with the Colombian branch of the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need, Sister Gloria Cecilia Narváez, released last October in Mali, spoke about her missionary work, her captivity and her appeal to be a living witness. Here is a...
Read more![Gratitude and concern in the service of persecuted Christians](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61db9a678a76f-ACN-20210423-112372.jpg)
For Aid to the Church in Need, two sentiments predominate as ACN looks back on the past year.
Read more![Report: violence against Christians is on the rise across India](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61c15344ddecb-20110907_001.jpg)
"Christians suffered 305 incidents of violence in the past nine months this year," said a fact-finding report released Oct. 21 in New Delhi.
Read more![Bishops: ‘Christian presence in Holy Land facing extreme threat’](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61bfcb029cead-ACN-20141216-17391.jpg)
Bishops in Jerusalem have warned that the existence of Christianity in the Holy Land is threatened by “a systematic attempt” to drive the community out.
Read more![Christians in India seek protection from Hindutva government](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61ba719c48c74-ACN-20211215-121429.jpg)
Following a mob attack by right-wing extremists on a Catholic school, a leading cleric has said that Indian Christians will never be safe under Prime Minister Modi’s government.
Read more![Despite “furious anger,” bishop calls for dialogue and reconciliation with Muslims in Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61b923edee919-ACN-20211209-121169.jpeg)
The persecution of Christians by Muslim extremists in West Africa was discussed at a two-day conference in Burkina Faso recently. Nigerian Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe, of the diocese of Makurdi, called for dialogue with Muslims and the establishment of a...
Read more![HRH The Prince of Wales meets survivors of persecution](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61b91d96ecfb3-ACN-20211213-121344.jpg)
Survivors of persecution supported by a leading Catholic charity met HRH The Prince of Wales at an Advent service in central London dedicated to those who suffer for their Christian faith.
Read more![Armenia: refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh fight for survival – with the help of ACN](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61b820342c52c-resized-image-Promo (11).jpeg)
Hardly noticed by the world, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan escalated into war in Nagorno-Karabakh on 27 September 2020.
Read more![New religious body adds to Islamization in Pakistan](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61b6866e48604-ACN-20201027-106312 (1).jpg)
Liberal Muslims and Christian activists have been expressing concern over Prime Minister Imran Khan's announcement of the establishment of a new body called the Rehmatul-lil-Alameen (‘Mercy for all the Worlds’—a phrase from the Koran) Authority (RAA).
Read more![7000 rosaries for the children of the Nineveh Plains – A gift to Mary!](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61b185d6c15e7-ACN-20211207-120927.jpg)
Inspired by the One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign, a prayer group of ACN benefactors made and donated thousands of colourful decade rosaries for ACN staff to take as small gifts to children on their project visits.
Read more![South Sudan: “There are times when riches prove to be a curse”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61b014924bc22-ACN-20200622-102388.jpg)
South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world. Two-thirds of its population are dependent on humanitarian aid.
Read more![Bahrain: The Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia will be consecrated on 10 December](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61ae8c4c54c44-ACN-20211206-120839.jpg)
The Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia which covers Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia has an estimated 2.5 million Catholics who are mostly migrant workers from different nations and diverse cultures.
Read more![ACN: “The Catholic minority in Georgia lives under difficult conditions”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61ad487055700-resized-image-Promo (10).jpeg)
Marco Mencaglia has been head of the section for Georgia for the past one-and-a-half years for Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
Read more![Christian home fire-bombed in Iraq](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61a9768e243b7-ACN-20171009-62447.jpg)
A bomb attack on the home of a Catholic shopkeeper in southern Iraq has been condemned by the head of the country’s largest Church, who has said that such attacks have driven an exodus of Christians.
Read more![ACN provides psychosocial support to IDPs from Cabo Delgado](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61a824255ed7c-ACN-20211201-120248.jpg)
"Children are now playing more, running more, jumping more... "
Read more![MALI: Hunger – the new weapon of the Jihadists to subjugate the population](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61a704735c213-ACN-20211130-120207.jpg)
The security situation in Mali has continued to deteriorate in the last few months. The increased violence is affecting above all the country people, given that the Jihadists are preventing the farmers from harvesting their rice fields, burning the fields...
Read more![In Nigeria, a priest recounts his kidnapping by Fulani herdsmen](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61a41aede91ef-ACN-20190320-85564 (1).jpg)
Kidnappings are a hallmark of terrorist organizations in Nigeria, including Boko Haram and Islamic State-West Africa Province, and clergy are increasingly being targeted.
Read more![Radical Hindus accuse two nuns of illegal conversions in India](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61973113a345d-ACN-20180108-66375.jpg)
A NEW REPORT RELEASED IN LATE OCTOBER, compiled by various Christian NGOs and titled “Christians Under Attack in India,” records 300 anti-Christian incidents so far in 2021. In one case, two Catholic nuns were forcibly marched to a police station by a mob...
Read more![Commission for Justice and Peace requests the government of Pakistan to end the forced marriage and conversion of girls and women](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61945196ed6f0-ACN-20201027-106313 (1).jpg)
Girls and women from religious minorities continue to be victims of forced conversion and marriage in Pakistan, with a significant number of cases occurring every year.
Read more![ACN announces a further 7.7 million AUD in relief packages for Syria and Lebanon](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6192dfa484c25-ACN-20201022-106156 (1).jpg)
A large proportion will go to projects related to construction and restoration, or education and religious formation, with much support also for rent and basic food and medical assistance. Without programmes such as these, there is a serious risk of Chris...
Read more![In Pakistan Christians are “the poorest of the poor”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/618c9fe5436aa-ACN-20201027-106312.jpg)
Besides rising Islamic fundamentalism and intolerance, Christians in this Asian country have also had to deal with endemic intolerance and were disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Read more![ACN concerned about priests and religious in danger in many parts of the world](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/618c9c02c009c-ACN-20180228-68619.jpg)
There is increasing aggression based on persecution and the lack of religious freedom
Read more![Burkina Faso: resurgence of terrorist attacks, Christians in danger of death](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61885fee2f92e-ACN-20211105-119145.jpeg)
According to reports received by Aid to the Church in Need, security in northern Burkina Faso has drastically deteriorated in recent months.
Read more![Bosnia Herzegovina: “Catholics are discriminated against in every respect”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61831b5d246a3-ACN-20190918-91723.jpg)
More than a quarter-century may have passed since the Dayton Agreement came into force, but coexistence in Bosnia Herzegovina remains riddled with conflict.
Read more![Ethiopia: Missionary pleads for peace as “new beginnings” fail to materialise](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6183180accf4c-ACN-20211101-118907.jpeg)
A Catholic missionary has sent out a plea for peace from war-torn Ethiopia.
Read more![Anti-conversion law foments anti-Christian violence in central India](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/617b7debe0cc5-ACN-20150309-21442.jpg)
ON THE EVE OF INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI MEETING WITH POPE FRANCIS at the Vatican, a report entitled “Christians Under Attack in India,” compiled by various Christian NGOs, records 300 anti-Christian incidents so far in 2021.
Read more![Key to Lebanon’s stability is neutrality, says former President Suleiman](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/617b7a8aa0c9f-ACN-20211027-118650.jpg)
Michael Suleiman is a Maronite Catholic politician who was President of Lebanon between 2008 and 2014, following a decade as commander of the country’s Armed Forces.
Read more![Venezuela: The crisis has brought many people closer to the Church](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61773eb12d52c-ACN-20171108-63900.jpg)
The Church accompanies the people as they suffer from a terrible social, economic and political crisis.
Read more![Taliban rule in Afghanistan poses a threat to Pakistan Christians](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6175fb89463de-ACN-20170705-57664.jpg)
Many Pakistanis celebrated the end of the United States military presence in Afghanistan, but others warn of increasing home-grown Islamist violence and extremism.
Read more![Lebanon – “Patriarch: Christians will be extinct if West does nothing”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6170ae9ee17d3-ACN-20211018-118235.jpg)
Amid a spiralling economic crisis and an upsurge in violence, a Middle Eastern Patriarch says that if the West fails to help the Christians in Lebanon the community could soon be extinct.
Read more![Church in Nigeria celebrates release of abducted seminarians](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6168b692ae05b-WhatsApp Image 2021-10-14 at 00.19._seminariansKafanchan (002).jpg)
“Hearts filled with joy” is a phrase that translates the spirit of the Church in Nigeria following the release of three young seminarians who were abducted last Monday.
Read more![Democratic Republic of the Congo – After a wave of attacks, Bishop denounces persecution of the Church](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61678a47b94ef-ACN-20210330-111445.jpg)
In commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the murder of Archbishop Christophe Munzihirwa Mwene Ngabo of the diocese of Bukavu, the local Church has denounced the persecution the diocese has been suffering recently at the hands of armed groups.
Read more![Haiti: “We are still in the first phase of our emergency aid efforts”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6166640662c90-ACN-20210820-116021.jpeg)
Faster progress cannot be made in the aid efforts because the currently precarious situation has stopped all travel to the country.
Read more![Three seminarians abducted from chapel](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6166256b059ec-ACN-20210422-112284 (1).jpg)
Three seminarians from Nigeria’s conflict-stricken Middle Belt were kidnapped from their college chapel last night (Monday) and six others were injured.
Read more![Mali: Colombian missionary nun released after over four years captivity](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6164bcad799db-ACN-20211011-117902.jpg)
After more than four and a half years of captivity at the hands of Malian jihadist insurgents, Sister Gloria Cecilia Narváez Argoti, a missionary from Colombia, was freed on Saturday 9 October.
Read more![Iraq: Ankawa, home of the Christians, comes of age](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61636c823ff79-ACN-20211008-117785.jpg)
The creation of 'the biggest district of Christians in the Middle East' has been warmly welcomed by a bishop from the area who sees the development as critical for securing the future of the Church in the country.
Read more![Pupils in Lebanon call on other children to join them in the campaign “One million children praying the Rosary” on October 18](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61636775819d5-ACN-20210906-116381.jpg)
Children studying at a Carmelite school in Kobayat, near Tripoli in Lebanon, gave thanks recently to the Blessed Virgin Mary for having saved two of their schoolmates from a forest fire, and at the same time called on children around the world to join in...
Read more![Indian priest charged with singing Christmas carols finally acquitted after four years of legal battles](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/615f86f9e332f-ACN-20211007-117697.jpeg)
Father George Mangalapilly, an Indian priest, was recently acquitted of an alleged crime of "forcible religious conversion."
Read more![“We know that Leah is alive, and we pray for her release”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/615e4a6d7d853-ACN-20181214-81371 (1).jpg)
Leah Sharibu is a young Nigerian woman who was captured by Islamist terrorists on 19 February 2018.
Read more![Mexico: Migrant crisis following massive influx of Haitian migrants](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/615ced667d40f-ACN-20211005-117579.jpg)
The diocese of Tapachula denounces incidents of maltreatment and launches an aid programme for migrants who, it says, are suffering a 'calvary.'
Read more![Lebanon and Syria: People are trying to survive on a dollar a day](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/615ba07cf115d-ACN-20211001-117523.jpg)
Regina Lynch, project manager at Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, talks about her experience in Lebanon and Syria after a ten-day trip to evaluate the situation and assess new aid projects.
Read more![Church decries “slow genocide” of Christians in Nigeria](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/615b9a833016b-ACN-20211001-117504.jpg)
The Catholic Church in Nigeria claims that the Christians in that country are the victims of a process of ethnic cleansing at the hands of Fulani Muslims, with the complicity of the state.
Read more![Sierra Leone: "They took God out of the solution when God is the solution"](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61526f9b72005-ACN-20200804-103660.jpg)
In Sierra Leone, doctors and scientists who dealt with the onset of the current COVID-19 pandemic adapted some measures used during the Ebola epidemic to prevent a repeat of the tragedy that killed 3,590 people between 2014 and 2016 and traumatised the co...
Read more![Shahnaz Bhatti, a testimony of a Catholic nun in Afghanistan](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/614bdc131324a-ACN-20210921-116902.jpg)
Originally from Pakistan, Sister Shahnaz Bhatti is a member of the congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Jeanne-Antide Thouret. She was serving in Afghanistan until 25 August, when she was able to leave the country through the help of the Italia...
Read more![Iraq’s extremists emboldened by Taliban takeover](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/614a968905b66-ACN-20161207-49123.jpg)
The threat of Daesh (ISIS) and other extremists in Iraq has grown following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan – according to one of the Middle East’s most respected bishops.
Read more![Cabo Delgado: “Nobody asks for martyrdom, but it’s something that can happen at any moment”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6147db1d9601b-ACN-20210915-116649.jpeg)
In an exclusive interview with the Portuguese national office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN International), Bishop Antonio Juliasse, the apostolic administrator of the diocese of Pemba, describes the situation his diocese has been going through over t...
Read more![‘My parents were killed by the Taliban and I fled Afghanistan when I was 8 years old’](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6143eef30a5ce-ACN-20210907-116410 (1).jpg)
Ali Ehsani is 38 years old and a lawyer by profession. After a very long and difficult journey, he arrived in Italy at the age of 13; he was all alone. He had fled Afghanistan after his Christian parents were killed for their faith. His only brother died...
Read more![Sister Clara’s dream for the future of the children in Iraq comes true](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61416bc954090-ACN-20160530-41311.jpg)
On 6 August 2014, the city of Qaraqosh fell into the hands of IS. The city is located on the Nineveh plains about 25 km outside of Mosul and was once considered the largest Christian city in the country. The Christians living in this region of Iraq were f...
Read more![Can you offer help from a distance?](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/613adcb6e2c0d-ACN-20210618-114218.jpg)
How the pandemic influences the working practice of a Charity.
Read more!["Our exit from Afghanistan has been a real miracle"](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/613ad469d0bd5-ACN-20210907-116410.jpg)
Father Giovanni Scalese is a priest of the Order of Clerks Regular of Saint Paul (the Barnabites) and the Superior of the Church’s sui iuris mission in Afghanistan. In a recent interview with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN International), he spoke about h...
Read more![Chile: How young people are helping to rebuild a vandalised church](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61380210ad3be-ACN-20210729-115190.jpg)
The Church of the Assumption in the Chilean capital Santiago was one of the churches that was vandalised and burned during the protests of 18 October 2020.
Read more![Taliban threat: Churches increase security](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6137fbd6a57c9-ACN-20210325-111361 (1).jpg)
Churches across Pakistan have stepped up security in response to the threat of terrorist attacks following the Taliban’s return to power in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Read more![Lebanon – the Carmelite monastery in Hazmieh](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6131ba4631de8-ACN-20210816-115877.jpg)
The monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the town of Hazmieh, in the suburbs of Beirut, is a popular destination for Christians of all denominations, and indeed for Muslims as well.
Read more![Brazil – a boat to bring Christ to the local people](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/612d835c09313-ACN-20210618-114175.jpg)
From 5 to 12 September this year the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, Hungary will bring together Catholics from all over the world to deepen their faith in the importance of the Eucharist and reflect on the mission of the Church to make Go...
Read more![Slovak Priest at Roma Minority Mission: We Should Rather Be Their Friends Than Aid Workers](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/612c257e5a6c2-ACN-20210824-116079.jpg)
Pope Francis will meet the Roma minority in Košice – the 2nd largest Slovak city – during the papal visit to Slovakia from September 12th to 15th.
Read more![52nd International Eucharistic Congress, September 2021](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61258c48ba640-ACN-20210528-113497.jpg)
Many countries are lacking in resources or basic freedoms. In the West we frequently encounter a lack of faith.
Read more![HAITI: “The statistics are alarming, but they are no more than a hint of the suffering being endured by the population”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6124250722edf-ACN-20210816-115861 (1).jpeg)
Speaking by telephone to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN International), Cardinal Chibly Langlois, Bishop of the diocese of Les Cayes, described the terrible situation facing his people in Haiti.
Read more![Aid to the Church in Need sees a black future for religious freedom in Afghanistan](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/611f22c5791c7-ACN-20210422-112284.jpg)
On August 19, the 102nd anniversary of the country's independence from British rule, Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman of the Taliban declared Afghanistan as the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” in its official Twitter account.
Read more![22 August: International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/611da8a05972c-ACN-20190509-87589.jpg)
Pakistan: "The lives of victims accused of blasphemy are forever threatened and many have been killed."
Read more![Russia: A radio transmitter smuggled by Aid to the Church in Need makes world history](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/611cb59e0c33d-ACN-20210817-115889.jpg)
19 August marks the 30th anniversary of the coup carried out by the Soviet military and Communist elites.
Read more![Irish dioceses reviving the tradition of the “Mass Rocks”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6114786e10d70-ACN-20210708-114733.jpg)
ACN Ireland is launching an initiative stressing the importance of the Eucharist and uniting all 26 dioceses in the country.
Read more![Belarus: “Pope Francis is concerned about the situation in the country”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/61120b6a9e611-ACN-20200820-104093 (1).jpg)
The international community is shocked at the situation in Belarus, which is marked by the brutal suppression of protests and sanctions.
Read more![Karamlesh: Rita and Rami](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6110c1da91cdb-rsz_acn-20201027-106353.jpg)
Seven years after the invasion by the Islamic State (IS) group, young Iraqis are taking their chances and are moving back to their homeland.
Read more![EXCLUSIVE: Father Pierluigi Maccalli goes to Fatima “to thank Mary” for his liberation](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/610cb36025e77-ACN-20210805-115613 (1).jpg)
It was a low-key, private pilgrimage. On the first Sunday of August Father Pier Luigi Maccalli visited the shrine of Fatima in Portugal to thank Our Lady for his liberation last October, after almost 2 years of captivity at the hands of a jihadist group i...
Read more![“We were among the dead, and we lived the resurrection”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6109eab4a0b43-ACN-20210802-115337.jpg)
Lebanese priest pause to remember a turning point in his homeland.
Read more![Call for National Prayer Campaign as Covid threatens the world and our country](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6109e8a3d2636-ACN-20201109-106720 (2).jpg)
People of Myanmar: Let us raise our hands and pray
Read more![INDIA: ACN funds major COVID relief aid package](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/610739d9c8d72-ACN-20210706-114714.jpeg)
The charity approves an overall aid package of over 8 million AUD to help Catholic communities in India cope with the crisis.
Read more![New microprojects centre in Damascus provides hope to Syria’s embattled Christians](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/610736031787c-ACN-20210729-115180.jpg)
Damascus, Syria — Christian Hope Centre, a Syrian organization supported by the Catholic Church, has opened its first ever microprojects program centre in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Read more![“I was lost, and am found. I was dead, and am alive again.” The words of a captured priest liberated in Mali](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60fa573e97cf3-ACN-20210721-114968.jpeg)
“I was lost, and have been found. I was dead, and I am alive again.” These were the words of gratitude expressed by Father León Douyon, a Catholic priest from the town of Ségué in the diocese of Mopti, in Mali, after having been liberated on 13 July this...
Read more![Catholic bishop in Myanmar dies - he lived with and for his people](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60fa4fff8a088-ACN-20180313-69006.jpg)
With profound grief and sorrow ACN has received the news about the death of Bishop John Hsane Hgyi from Pathein, in Myanmar, due to COVID-19.
Read more![“Kolay gelsin ” – the work of the Salesians in Istanbul](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60f91092f1b25-ACN-20210719-114933.jpg)
"Kolay gelsin,” means “may it come easily."
Read more![The challenges facing the Church in the world’s most Catholic continent](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60f7bdd5d7ead-ACN-20190524-87979.jpg)
One in every two Catholics in the world are from Latin America. With almost 500 million Catholics, and despite the ever-growing presence of sects, about 44% of all Catholics in the world live in Latin America.
Read more![Democratic Republic of Congo: Abducted nun is free again](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60f4b0954ade7-ACN-20170926-61665.jpg)
Sister Francine, kidnapped on July 8 in Goma, in the eastern Democratic Province of Congo, is free again. This was announced by her religious community, the Daughters of the Resurrection, to the worldwide pontifical charity "Aid to the Church in Need" (AC...
Read more![Mali: Joy at the release of the priest kidnapped more than three weeks ago](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60ef86ee0e2b4-ACN-20210714-114856 (1).jpeg)
The pontifical foundation ACN confirms the release of Father Leon Douyon, Catholic priest from Ségué in the Mopti region of Mali, yesterday afternoon, Tuesday 13 July.
Read more![Democratic Republic of the Congo: religious sister kidnapped](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60ecf0633c502-ACN-20180108-66189 (1).jpg)
The congregation of the Daughters of the Resurrection appeals to the benefactors of ACN for prayers.
Read more“This sad event marks an unfortunate turning point in the history of our people” the bishops of Haiti deplore. "
Read more![Latest message to her family from Sister Gloria, a hostage in Mali since 2017](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60e670e430aaf-ACN-20210707-114717.jpg)
“Pray a great deal for me…”
Read more![South Africa: a fragile anchor to flee from poverty and violence](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60e66de66122f-ACN-20180524-71573.jpg)
ACN provides future and hope to refugees through pastoral care for children.
Read more![As COVID-19 strikes Zimbabwe hard again, ACN reaches out to ease the struggle of pastoral workers](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60e544525b426-ACN-20210512-113107.jpg)
Zimbabwe's recent re-imposition of a lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has focused global attention once again on this distressed country.
Read more![The death of Father Stan Swamy, SJ](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60e541f08c5e5-ACN-20201207-107968 (1).jpg)
“His fate should be a wake-up call for the international community.”
Read more![NIGER: Jihadist attack on Christians in Tillaberi](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60e24e36876c3-ACN-20200310-98300.jpg)
The international pontifical foundation ACN has received news of a jihadist attack on Fantio and Dolbel, two towns in the Tillabéri region, in southwestern Niger.
Read more![The Holy Family Nursery – sowing happiness and hope among the Christian community in Iraq](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60e242d0ce10d-ACN-20210604-113731.jpg)
How ACN is backing the family and the future of the children of Baghdeda (Qaraqosh).
Read more![Ahead of historic meeting with the Pope in Rome: the Middle East’s largest Christian community is in peril](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60dbe010c6fba-ACN-20201109-106720 (1).jpg)
The economic and political crisis in Lebanon, home to the Middle East’s largest Christian community, has deepened ahead of a historic July 1 meeting between Pope Francis and Christian leaders from the country.
Read more![MOZAMBIQUE: catechist risks his life to save a parish “treasure” in Palma during the terrorist attack](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60dbce8db2f59-ACN-20210628-114479.jpeg)
Today ACN is able to tell the inspiring story of this courageous Mozambican catechist.
Read more![Young Christian women in Pakistan facing discrimination, social exclusion and poverty](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60d90634a7397-ACN-20210625-114441 (1).jpg)
An ACN programme is giving them new hope and equipping them to fight for a better future.
Read more![Middle East: “Peace comes directly out of the heart of Jesus”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60d563daaae46-ACN-20210624-114425.jpg)
The Maronite Archbishop Chucrallah-Nabil El-Hage is involved in the prayer initiative “Peace Day for the East,” which will bring together all of the Middle East beginning on Sunday 27 June. In an interview with the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church...
Read more![“May God heal the wounds of the Middle East!”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60d55bbd06fac-ACN-20150129-19146.jpg)
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN International) welcomes the Day of Peace for the Middle East.
Read more![Bringing Christ to remote rural communities in Ghana](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60d42b01c22e3-ACN-20210505-112789.jpg)
Mission accomplished – a pickup truck for the Capuchin missionaries in Kpassa.
Read more![LEBANON: ACN helps historic church reopen](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60d429c6bf974-ACN-20200908-104478.jpeg)
A historic Lebanese church, that sustained severe damage in August 2020’s devastating blast, is on track to reopen in July 2021, thanks to help from ACN.
Read more![Nigeria, the most populous country on the African continent, is at war](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60d17a1d85c7b-ACN-20190320-85564.jpg)
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) project partners denounce war conditions and inaction by the Nigerian government.
Read more![Burkina Faso: Horror-stricken after massacre](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60d178ada641b-ACN-20200310-98359.jpg)
Among the victims in the aftermath of the bloodiest terrorist attack since Islamist violence began are also Christians.
Read more![MOZAMBIQUE: Catholic priest denounces abduction of “hundreds” of children by jihadists – boys to be forced to become child fighters, and girls to be abused as “child brides”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60c2deeba08ef-ACN-20200708-103009.jpeg)
“They are wounds that will be difficult to heal”, says Father Kwiriwi Fonseca of the diocese of Pemba in northern Mozambique.
Read more![How ACN is helping in Mozambique: Radios bringing hope to those living in fear of terrorism](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60c191d6262aa-ACN-20210115-109045.jpeg)
News of burned out villages and barbarous beheadings of individuals has become commonplace in this region.
Read more![Aid to the Church in Need holds its first “Benefactors’ Day”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60c062aa792e7-ACN-20210326-111395.jpg)
On the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Masses will be celebrated throughout the world for our benefactors.
Read more![“Lebanon needs our prayers and our solidarity more urgently than ever”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60b9c47e54f48-rsz_acn-20181202-80731.jpg)
ACN welcomes the announcement of an emergency meeting in the Vatican.
Read more![Gratitude for 28 years serving the Church in Africa](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60b57308c645b-ACN-20171212-65559_50.jpg)
Christine du Coudray retires after 28 years at ACN International as head of project department for Africa.
Read more![Genocide is happening in Tigray](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60b43f9f38403-rsz_acn-20180710-73666.jpg)
The targeting of young people, indiscriminate killings and widespread sexual violence – including the rape of nuns – is part of a genocide against the Tigrayan ethnic group of northern Ethiopia, according to a source close to the Church.
Read more![Democratic Republic of the Congo - risk of humanitarian crisis after volcanic eruption](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60b43bcc7856c-rsz_1acn-20170712-58094.jpg)
Catholic nun expresses concern for the situation of the people following a mass exodus from Goma, a city of 2 million people.
Read more![Dem Rep Congo: People must decide between the danger and possible assaults by armed groups](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60b03e044d1ca-ACN-20201002-105296.jpg)
Prayers for the people of Goma
Read more![Myanmar/Burma: grief and shock after attack on church](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60b03a827c336-rsz_20130620_003.jpg)
Four people killed – Cardinal Bo speaks of a “humanitarian tragedy”
Read more![NIGERIA: Bishop seeks release of 75-year-old priest from kidnappers](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60aeee05c4b5b-nigeria_kidnapped (002).jpg)
A Bishop has taken personal charge of negotiations to secure the release of a retired parish priest kidnapped in northern Nigeria five days ago.
Read more![ACN: Aid for the victims of Boko Haram](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60aee15a532f9-ACN-20210520-113309.jpg)
Unadulterated horror and new life often go hand in hand in Nigeria. The deeply moving story of one of the victims of Boko Haram is one such example.
Read more![Catholic nun in Niger dies - she gave her life for the poor of the poorest](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60ade362a9357-ACN-20170726-58672.jpg)
By Maria Lozano
Read more![Aid to the Church in Need follows the call to prayer for peace and justice in the Holy Land](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60a758bd314c0-ACN-20200217-97191.jpg)
Prayer for the Holy Land
Read moreBy Ximena Rondon & María Lozano
Read more![“Catechists are the backbone of the Church”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60a4a47b2f72d-ACN-20210122-109277.jpg)
Aid to the Church in Need supports the work of lay preachers all over the world.
Read more![Democratic Republic of the Congo: “We are in a state of utter misery”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60a4a1a3c7c34-ACN-20180320-69208.jpg)
Bishop from East Congo deplores terrorism and human rights violations in a talk with Aid to the Church in Need.
Read more!["Where hunger weeps - COVID in the Brazilian Amazon region"](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60a49c519a463-ACN-20210510-112923.jpg)
Manaus in Brazil is the capital of the Amazonas state and one of the principal financial, industrial and economic centers of the northern region of Brazil.
Read more![ACN welcomes the appointment of a Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion by the European Commission](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6094c9bc02fc1-ACN-20210401-111601.jpg)
The Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need expresses its satisfaction to the appointment of Christos Stylianides, a Cypriot national, as Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU.
Read more![India in the grip of Covid: “It is only our faith that keeps us going”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/609339e45581a-ACN-20200406-99431.jpeg)
India is all over the news these days. The pandemic, which is a threat to people worldwide, has delivered a particularly hard blow to the country.
Read more![Democratic Republic of the Congo – Islamists are redrawing the East of the country](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6090a69098ba2-ACN-20180320-69209 (3).jpg)
An interview with Bishop Paluku Sikuli Melchisédech.
Read more![“Ukraine expects papal visit”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/609097e275d0d-ACN-20210310-110995.jpg)
The head of the Greek Catholic Church talked with ACN about his hopes that Pope Francis will visit the war-torn country.
Read more![Dozens of priests are dying of COVID-19 in Latin America](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/608a1bc2098e8-ACN-20200623-102555.jpg)
The Catholic Church in Latin America has not been spared the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more![Ethiopia – Hunger and fear are wreaking havoc in Tigray](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/608a12f6938a7-ACN-20161211-49153_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
A Catholic priest tells ACN, “We need help – both material and spiritual."
Read moreACN Project Manager for South Sudan: “Years of armed conflict have made South Sudanese increasingly vulnerable.”
Read more![Eight years after the abduction of two Syrian Bishops](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60863e6dbef44-ACN-20210423-112323.jpg)
8 years on since the abduction and we still have no news of these two missing Bishops.
Read moreACN shows solidarity with the Catholic Church of the island state.
Read more![Christian families face destruction of their homes in Pakistan](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60765b7bdfc30-ACN-20210412-111865.jpeg)
Recently, the houses of 450 Catholic families in Hyderabad and Karachi were destroyed as part of an anti-encroachment drive—targeting homes considered to be illegal settlements—by Sindh provincial government.
Read more![Democratic Republic of the Congo – Bishops warn of threat of Islamism in East Congo](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6076509660b80-ACN-20210330-111447.jpg)
Congolese bishops‘ conference calls for a new strategy to combat rebel militias.
Read more![The seed of Thomas the Apostle bears fruit: missionaries from India serve in Africa](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/606e9ca529ed7-ACN-20210329-111415.jpg)
By Sebastian Moll
Read more![Indonesia: “We are going to have to live with terrorist attacks”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/606bbfdb8aea2-ACN-20210401-111583.jpg)
“We are going to have to live with terrorist attacks”
Read more![MOZAMBIQUE: How many more deaths will it take before the world reacts?](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60652fe4afcab-ACN-20201204-107861.jpeg)
By Paulo Aido and Maria Lozano
Read more![CABO DELGADO: “They are shooting everywhere. May it be as God wills...” The words of a local inhabitant, fleeing the attack on Palma](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/606259b274056-ACN-20210326-111379.jpg)
“We are running, fleeing, trying to hide here on the shore. They are shooting everywhere. May it be as God wills, here in Palma...”
Read more![Suicide bombers attack cathedral in Indonesia](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60624ebb3fb6b-ACN-20210329-111406.jpg)
Two suspected suicide bombers have attacked the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in Makassar, the capital of Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province on the morning of March 28 when parishioners had just finished the celebration of Palm Sunday. The attack kille...
Read more![Pakistani Catholics volunteer for Church security](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60611b86ad2fa-Donate button_Easy-Resize.jpg)
As Easter approaches, Catholics who volunteer to provide security for churches around the country have begun participating in meetings at local police stations to protect parishioners.
Read more![Papal visit to Iraq’s largest Catholic town creates hope that Christians will return](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/605d5de804f20-ACN-20210308-110763.jpg)
Since 2003 all Iraqis have suffered the burdens of war: kidnapping, displacement, and death.
Read more![Myanmar: “I fear there is going to be a bloodbath”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/604015911113a-ACN-20210303-110625_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Expert talks about the motives behind the military coup.
Read more![A Lamborghini for Iraq](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/603c1b8e8ea5a-ACN-20171115-64164.jpg)
Thanks to a donation from Pope Francis, ACN has been able to help persecuted Christians in Iraq in the Niniveh Plains.
Read more![Pope's visit to Iraq: “Respect for Christians will grow"](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60457c4b5b151-ACN-20180410-69746 (1)_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Archbishop Bashar Warda, who will be hosting Pope Francis on his visit to Iraq, hopes for more awareness on the part of the Muslim majority for the country’s Christians.
Read more![Burkina Faso: “The faithful are fleeing the terrorism, which they are powerless to resist, but they are holding on to their faith”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/603437eba31c6-ACN-20210222-110364_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The situation in the Sahel region is worrying. In the interview below Maria Lozano of the international Catholic pastoral charity and pontifical foundation ACN, speaks with Bishop Laurent B. DABIRE, of the diocese of Dori, in northern Burkina Faso.
Read more![Christians in Pakistan: “A first positive step”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6029b1c79d7c2-ACN-20210212-110051_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Religious minorities in Pakistan, such as Christians and Hindus, face painful discrimination and persecution from the majority Muslim population. A new initiative by the government is meant to put a hold to this. ACN asked Shahid Mobeen, Pakistani Profess...
Read more![Haiti: Bishops warn of catastrophe](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60237bc5caa5b-ACN-20191008-92308_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The Bishop’s Conference of the Caribbean island deplores the explosive security and political situation.
Read more![After 4 years of kidnapping, the Church continues to pray for the release of Sister Gloria Narvaez](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6023787b1b4d6-ACN-20201127-107585.jpg)
The Catholic Church in Mali (Africa) continues to pray and work for the release of the Colombian sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez Argoty, who was kidnapped four years ago on 7 February by jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda.
Read more![On the 15th anniversary of the murder of Fr Andrea Santoro](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60208565c1f48-ACN-20210205-109886_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
On the 15th anniversary of the murder of Fr Andrea Santoro.
Read more![Pakistan/UK: PM’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief receives Pakistan girl’s asylum petition](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60207d0398a22-ACN-20210205-109850_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Fiona Bruce MP, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, has received a petition from a Catholic charity calling for asylum to be granted to a 14-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan whose life is in danger.
Read more![Cuba: Catholics call for renewal of this communist country](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60188bb52aee5-20110428_002.jpg)
“It is time to return to God.” Hundreds of Cuban Catholics, priests and lay alike, see their country in a state of profound crisis and are hoping for a national dialogue that will lead to political changes.
Read more![NIGERIAN HARDSHIPS: “Our priests, nuns and catechists are not for sale”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60136aa444565-Donate button_Easy-Resize_Easy-Resize.com (1).jpg)
A series of kidnappings and acts of violence against priests and religious in Nigeria are of particular concern to Catholics in the country.
Read more![In Egypt, Christmas season saw violent attacks on Christians](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60136162e4bbf-ACN-20210125-109412.jpg)
Egypt is home to the largest Christian community in the Arab world - the Coptic Church. Reaching back to the very beginnings of Christianity and to the Apostle Mark, there are today about 8 million Copts in Egypt. But in a politically deeply divided count...
Read more![Ethiopia: Rising violence causes hundreds of deaths in Tigray](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60135d62289bb-20120713_002_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
“The situation in northern Ethiopia is alarming. Communication is very precarious and for almost three weeks the region has been totally isolated from the rest of the world. No internet or telephone. But the news we get from those who have been able to vi...
Read more![The Central African Republic – a country surrendered to the mercy of looters and mercenaries](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/60135ab8f00cd-ACN-20140603-09649_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
An interview with Gérard Ouambou.
Read more![Lebanon: Despite the crisis, the Church will not abandon the refugees and the needy](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/6008e81d6d7a7-ACN-20210119-109103_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Lebanon is the country that has taken in the highest number of refugees in the world, in proportion to its own population.
Read more![Bishop Oswaldo Azuaje’s last plea: “Peace And justice for Venezuela”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fff7c22ec516-ACN-20210112-108801_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
In memory of the first Venezuelan bishop to fall victim of COVID-19.
Read more![Democratic Republic of the Congo: “We have been on the Via Dolorosa for years”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fff75a8ad8b6-ACN-20180320-69209_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Following bloody massacres, the Bishop of Beni appeals to the international community through Aid to the Church in Need.
Read more![The hopes of the Christians of Baghdeda (Qaraqosh) for the papal visit to Iraq in March](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5ffe21dee7842-ACN-20210106-108658 (1)_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Pope Francis is due to visit Iraq from 5 – 8 March this year.
Read more![BRAZIL: “Your donations are saving lives”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5ffbdaed46302-ACN-20210106-108615_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
"Without you, we could do nothing. You are the arms of God’s providence, who loves them through us. You make a material donation, and God gives you the joy of knowing that you are useful, today and in the future. And He will grant you Paradise.”
Read more![Central African Republic: Bishop of Bangassou asks for prayers of peace for his people](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5ffbc4c98a0c8-ACN-20180516-71286_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Happy New Year! These are words we commonly hear at this time of year. And they were also the first words addressed by Bishop Juan José Aguirre of Bangassou to all at the international Catholic pastoral charity and pontifical foundation Aid to the Church...
Read more![ACN takes stock of the situation of Christians around the world during 2020: Many dark shadows and a few glimmers of light](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5ffbc0383d052-ACN-20201209-108030_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Coronavirus, terrorism and war – and once again a growing level of persecution.
Read more![Egypt: I feel pity for the perpetrators](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5ffbae470689e-I feel pity for the perpetrators_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
A survivor looks back ten years after the attack on Coptic Christians.
Read more![After 11 years, Imran finally walks free](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fd960a219b86-ACN-20200615-102083cropped.jpg)
A Christian man in Pakistan will at last walk out of prison a free man – after the court acquitted him in a case that spanned more than 11 years with nearly 70 adjournments.
Read more![Thank you Mass in Aleppo for ACN benefactors](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fd9527e03e4b-ACN-20170627-56988_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
“Your support makes the families stay in the country,” states the Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo.
Read more![Pakistani Catholic family prays for canonization of martyred son](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fd7dd761e965-ACN-20201211-108138_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Naz Bano has been praying since 2016 for momentum in the movement to seek sainthood for her 20-year-old son, Akash Bashir, who was killed while preventing a suicide bomber from entering the crowded St. John’s Catholic Church.
Read more![Syria: Mons. Selwanos Boutros Alnemeh was a fighter for hope](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fd1b5abc34ed-ACN-20181008-77549_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The death of the Syrian Orthodox Archbishop of Homs.
Read more![Statement of the international charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on the incarceration of 83-year-old Jesuit priest Fr Stan Swamy](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fd1b0c5ca5b5-ACN-20201207-107968_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The executive president of ACN International, Dr Thomas Heine-Geldern, has released the following statement:
Read more![Iraq Church welcomes 2021 papal visit](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fcea8ed59dd9-ACN-20190611-88410_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Iraq’s Christians have welcomed news that Pope Francis is set to go to Iraq next Spring – the first time any pontiff will have visited the country.
Read more![MALI : The blessing of the great silence](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fcda7dfc30b2-ACN-20190919-91811_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
After two years living as a captive in the desert, somewhere between Niger and Mali, the Italian missionary Father Pierluigi Maccalli , who was received by the Pope on 9 November 2020, recalled his first impressions in an interview conducted by the SMA Me...
Read more![A poor Church in a rich country](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fc96d8b17f6f-ACN-20201125-107450.jpg)
Not only is the weather harsh and cold north of the Arctic Circle, but the religious climate is also anything but pleasant at times for the handful of Catholics living in the Norwegian city of Harstad on the island of Hinnøya. Aid to the Church in Need (A...
Read more![Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Dayton Accords did not achieve stable peace](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fbc44e730748-20060426_011.jpg)
Bishops condemn corruption and the unjust treatment of Catholics.
Read more![In the times of the pandemic, Mass intentions come to those in need like the help of the Good Samaritan](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fbc3e7b72f03-ACN-20200813-103905.jpg)
Many communities all over the world are suffering such debilitating poverty that the faithful are not able to support their priests financially.
Read more![Set Your Captives Free - New Report on Persecuted Christians](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fbc3845744b2-ACN-20201119-107213.jpg)
This new report highlights innocent Christians held against their will.
Read more![SYRIA: Together we can put a smile on the children's faces](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fbc31c8912ea-ACN-20151009-30417.jpg)
ACN will be donating 25,000 anoraks for Syrian children this Christmas.
Read more![Nigeria: danger of stigmatization against the Fulani](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fb5a43dbcf8b-ACN-20190320-85566.jpg)
The Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) interviewed Rev. Fr. Blaise Agwon, director of the Centre for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace in Jos, the capital of Plateau State in the central belt region of central Nigeria.
Read more![We have to rise again from the ruins](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fb4709eb181a-ACN-20201022-106185_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
ACN is helping to rebuild the sisters’ convent on the ninth floor of the hospital building.
Read more![ARMENIA: The war is exposing the hypocrisy of many governments](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fb1a67925217-ACN-20201002-105296 (1).jpg)
"The Armenian people have always come back again from the midst of indescribable calamities."
Read more![The Syrian people have been brutally driven into poverty](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fadfacc5e5d3-ACN-20140414-07296_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
An Interview with Jesuit Antoine Audo, the Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo in Syria.
Read more![The demographic changes cannot detract from the importance of the existence of the Christian communities in the Middle East](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fac7f31f375d-ACN-20201105-106695_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Maria Lozano, head of press and information at the charity’s international headquarters, spoke to Father Raymond Abdo, the provincial of the discalced Carmelite Fathers in Lebanon, to find out more about the life of the Christians in this country.
Read more![Our mission is to bring light into the darkness we are living through](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fac76e1b72ed-ACN-20201109-106712_Easy-Resize.com (1).jpg)
ACN supports the reconstruction of the Church of Saint Saviour in Beirut.
Read more![MOZAMBIQUE: ACN announces $160,000 aid to alleviate the emergency in the country](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fab449e3ff44-ACN-20200702-102799.jpeg)
New massacres by jihadists – the number of refugees is growing daily.
Read more![Democratic Republic of the Congo: The violence continues to escalate](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fa48273e51cf-ACN-20170926-61677_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
"I am here as a witness of the torment of a people, my people, who are asking only for the right to live in dignity." - The Archbishop of Kinshasa.
Read more![Pakistan: Abducted Christian girl safe](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fa3337d24ba5-ACN-20201026-106298.jpg)
“We hope that justice will prevail at the next court hearings."
Read more![India: Church Leaders urge government to protect Christians against attacks triggered by anti-conversion campaign](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fa32e850d0e5-ACN-20201103-106607.jpg)
With major Hindu nationalist networks announcing plans to launch a campaign against religious conversions—especially in the tribal areas of India—Catholic Church leaders say such a campaign has been going on for a long time and that the move is aimed at d...
Read more![STATEMENT ACN INTERNATIONAL – NICE, FRANCE](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fa0a0f5428de-ACN-20160926-46380_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Statement by Thomas Heine-Geldern, Executive President of the foundation:
Read more![Coronavirus has destroyed our life](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5fa0968e984fa-ACN-20141030-15483_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The coronavirus pandemic has left Bethlehem’s tourism-reliant economy in tatters, according to a shop owner, who has appealed to pilgrims, saying he longs for the day when they can safely return.
Read more![Syria – “We are living through the worst period in our history”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f9a0482b17a8-ACN-20201002-105297_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Desolation and discouragement are spreading in Syria, so we must therefore sow hope for the people.
Read more![Pakistani Catholic still lives in hiding after blasphemy acquittal two decades ago](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f98c55959339-ACN-20201027-106348_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
In Pakistan, Shafique Masih has been living in hiding for nearly two decades despite his acquittal in a blasphemy case in 2001.
Read more![Arson and vandalism: the continuing tragedy of two iconic churches in Santiago](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f975714a0d98-ACN-20201022-106188_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The irrationality and hatred we are witnessing is an attack on a fundamental human right to religious liberty!
Read more![A million children praying the Rosary – record numbers respond](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f974c6e6cf98-ACN-20201007-105555_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Responding to the appeal by Pope Francis, inviting all children to join in this initiative, young people from no fewer than 136 different countries and on every continent took part in the most recent annual event of “A million children praying the Rosary....
Read more![Priest killed in Venezuela](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f911cf9c72a6-ACN-20201021-106114.jpg)
ACN has received the sad news of the murder of the Venezuelan priest José Manuel de Jesús Ferreira, parish priest of the Eucharistic Shrine of San Juan Bautista in the diocese of San Carlos de Cojedes and project partner of ACN.
Read more![Two churches set in fire in Santiago de Chile](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f8e04ad2829e-ACN-20201019-105996.jpeg)
The International Pontifical Foundation ACN condemns the violent attacks on churches in Santiago de Chile yesterday, 18 October. Two churches were attacked by protesters at a time when several hours of peaceful demonstrations were taking place to celebrat...
Read more![Fundraising for Lebanon blast victims](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f8d14f41c424-ACN-20201015-105984_Easy-Resize.com (1).jpg)
Two brave children, Trey and Erin, ages 13 and 11, and their parents recently organised a fundraiser for the victims in Beruit and donated the money to Aid to the Church in Need's National Emergency Appeal for Lebanon.
Read more![ACN will support the reconstruction of Beirut with five million Euros](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f88ce93ce6ad-ACN-20201015-105969_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The charity announces new aid initiatives, ten weeks on from the catastrophic explosion in the city.
Read more![Syria: The two Franciscan Friars giving hope to Christians living under Sharia in Idlib province](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f878aea0ce53-ACN-20201014-105929.jpg)
In spite of the difficulties, Father Luai and Father Hanna have stayed on there because they believe that this region should not be abandoned.
Read more![Iraqi rescuer of centuries-old books from ISIS's destruction nominated for the EU award](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f86473a079f0-ACN-20200330-99247.jpg)
Mgr. Najeeb Michaeel, Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul, has been listed as one of the three finalists to obtain the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament. The decision will be announced on 22 October.
Read more![Pope Francis supports ACN's Prayer Campaign 'One Million Children Praying the Rosary'](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f84e68d388bb-ACN-20190816-90658.jpg)
During the Angelus in St Peter's Square on Sunday 11 October 2020, Pope Francis publicly announced and encouraged people to participate in Aid to the Church in Need's prayer campaign 'One Million Children Praying the Rosary.'
Read more![Pakistan: Seven wasted years](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f84dc851cc48-ACN-20201012-105669.jpg)
The head of a Catholic human rights’ organisation in Pakistan has hit out at the country’s justice system for taking so long to free the man wrongly accused of sparking one of the worst outbreaks of anti-Christian violence.
Read more![Father Pier Luigi Maccalli finally set free after two years in the hands of jihadists](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f8385067f301-ACN-20190919-91808_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The Italian SMA missionary Father Pier Luigi Maccalli has finally been set free, on Tuesday 6 October 2020, more than two years after he was originally abducted in the diocese of Niamey in Niger, on 17 February 2018.
Read more![Archbishop from Beirut: “We want to know the truth about the explosion”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f7e4d15014d1-ACN-20201007-105595_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
"The people in Lebanon are people who need love, they need to be cared for."
Read moreIn an October 1 message marking the 60th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence from British rule, Bishop Matthew Kukah of Sokoto was harshly critical of the country’s President Mohammadu Buhari, faulting him for failing to rein in ongoing violence, much o...
Read more![Lebanon: “The sisters are a living witness to Christ on earth”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f7bbd87a1e1d-ACN-20201002-105314_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
John Paul II told us that Lebanon is a message: "We Christians here have an important role to play in this country, and the day we forget this message, Lebanon will no longer be Lebanon.”
Read more![A Christian convert from Iran – “The Bible is all that I have”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f7bafaaa3243-ACN-20200921-104862.jpg)
One man's conversion to Christianity
Read more![God is from every culture, from every clan](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f7ba456f2263-ACN-20201001-105249_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
A documentary film supported by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) about a missionary living with the Dassanech people on Ethiopia’s Omo River, who works to overcome generations of inter-tribal violence through evangelisation and reconciliation, was selected...
Read more![One million children praying the Rosary can change the world](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f726449cdb79-ACN-20200114-96012.jpg)
“When one million children pray the rosary, the world will change” - St Padre Pio
Read more![Every continent has its own calling; the calling of Africa is the family](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f6d8f62ace23-ACN-20190603-88118_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Looking back at almost 30 years of service for the Church in Africa:
Read more![LEBANON: They count on us for help – both spiritual and financial](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f6a92b662928-ACN-20200922-104877_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Interview with Reinhard Backes, head of projects for the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need, after his visit to Lebanon from 7-16 September 2020.
Read more![A Ray of Hope in Beirut](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f692e11b12d1-ACN-20200921-104844.jpg)
We ask for the sake of humanity for the whole world to put their hands together and help the people in Lebanon.
Read more![Nigeria: It is like we have been left to perish because of our faith](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f642f04aecf2-ACN-20200819-104044.jpg)
The Bishop of Kaduna declares that 'dark clouds of violence have enveloped our land'
Read more![Barring a miracle, we’re going to have to abandon Cuba](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f64156a0586a-ACN-20200616-102164_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Our brothers and sisters in Cuba are struggling with poverty after the hurricane that hit in 2019
Read more![Lebanon in Crisis: “We need a miracle”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f5ac8e80d4f9-ACN-20200909-104528.jpg)
These people are asking for the least of their rights – they are asking for food!
Read more![Beirut: We will not abandon you](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f55b1b146aed-ACN-20200814-103911 (3).jpg)
ACN is preparing a second wave of help for Beirut amid growing fears that last month’s explosion could spark an exodus of Christians from Lebanon.
Read more![Belarus: ACN to participate in the call for prayer issued by the Catholic Metropolitan of Minsk-Mohilev](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f55774fbbef3-ACN-20200820-104093_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Archbishop Kondrusievicz has since been refused re-entry into Belarus and unknown persons have changed the locks of a Catholic church in Minsk.
Read more![Mozambique: Still no news of nuns disappeared since rebel attack](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f4f40bb71002-ACN-20200708-103006.jpeg)
Sisters missing in Mozambique!
Read more![A Pakistani Catholic released after five years in prison for murder he didn't commit, tells his story](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f4f28a7c6938-ACN-20200305-97886 (1).jpg)
Amjad Arif tells ACN about his sufferings after being unjustly arrested in 2015.
Read more![“We need a ‘climate change’ in matters of religious freedom”](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f4f1a205a99a-ACN-20200714-103145.jpg)
Interview with Ján Figel’, the former EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU:
Read more![Lebanon: You need to know](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f4c4beabca07-ACN-20200318-98638_Easy-Resize.com (1).jpg)
Maronite Father Charbel Eid, from Lebanon, talks about the situation in his native country.
Read more![Burkina Faso: First Holy Communion in between terrorism and COVID-19](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f4c477c63207-ACN-20200827-104247 (1).png)
Children receiving the Sacrament of First Holy Communion talk with ACN International about their faith in Jesus.
Read more![Pakistan: 14-year-old Maira Shahbaz ran away from the kidnapper's house](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f4c3dc1d7f48-ACN-20200519-101205_Easy-Resize.com (1).jpg)
Maira fled Nakash’s home
Read more![How ACN is striving to bring hope to Lebanon](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f44a08e46a92-Donate button_Easy-Resize.jpg)
Today all our people are struggling to obtain their daily bread
Read more![Mozambique: Pope Francis calls the Bishop of Pemba](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f3f1386c7476-Untitled-1.jpg)
Holy Father, Pope Francis calls the Bishop of Pemba:
Read more![Belarus is writing a new page in its history](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f3ef97a68a58-ACN-20200819-104026_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The outcome of the August 9th election triggered serious riots
Read more![Prayer Campaign for International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f3c645f5260d-ACN-20171114-64100_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The 22nd of August has been dedicated as the 'International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief' which recognizes the importance of giving victims of acts of violence towards religion or belief and their families...
Read more![International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief | 22 August](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f3e09fd750e8-ACN-20191101-93342_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief must lead to concrete action says Dr Thomas Heine-Geldern, international executive president of Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.
Read more![Myanmar needs religious leaders' prophetic voices and moral courage in building peace and justice](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f360632e3847-ACN-20200727-103414_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Religions for Peace issued an appeal signed by Religious Leaders of Myanmar in connection with the elections scheduled for November. The document is entitled “Seize the opportunity!” and was published in July 13, 2020.
Read more![Christians in Lebanon can count on help from ACN](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f332cce890ae-ACN-20200811-103842 (1)_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The charity is funding food parcels for survivors of the explosion in Beirut
Read more![Bishop Kukah: ‘Genocide is happening in Nigeria’](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f31e123ab13a-FeaturedImageforNewsBlogMirrorStories-_MercyAccrodingtotheHeartofJesus.jpg)
Systematic violence against Nigerian Christians by Fulani herdsmen constitutes genocide according to a leading Catholic bishop who stressed that Muslims are also falling foul of the violence.
Read more![60 years of independence: THE CATHOLIC CHALLENGE IN AFRICA](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f2babc3842eb-ACN-20131213-03674 (1)_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
August will mark the anniversaries of nine other countries, namely Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), Gabon and Senegal.
Read more![Pakistan: Christian man murdered for living in a Muslim suburb](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f2ba763ee845-ACN-20160121-34876_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The most recent attack on a Christian in Pakistan has further increased the suffering and fear among Christians throughout the country.
Read more![Nicaragua: ACN condemns terrorist attack on cathedral](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f2ba1ae66f04-Foto 1.jpg)
ACN International has condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist-style arson attack against the Catholic cathedral in Managua, the Nicaraguan capital.
Read more![The Fazendas in Argentina – there is no revenge better than love](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f2ba66c1ea9f-ACN-20190423-86948 (1)_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
The Fazendas – the “Farms of Hope” - seek to give an answer to this suffering.
Read more![Iraq: A beacon of light for Baghdeda (Qaraqosh)](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f2ba52f2c731-ACN-20180803-74617 (1)_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
Six years after IS-invasion a Church's reconstruction fuels Christian's hope.
Read more![Pakistan - Maira: Calamity in the courtroom](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f2b95937d268-MairaandMotherPakistan.jpg)
Campaign to free 14-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan.
Read more![Mozambique: “The international community is nowhere to be seen in regard to the problem"](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5f223fa600786-800x600Mozambique.jpg)
Mozambique: “The international community is nowhere to be seen in regard to the problem” in Cabo Delgado, says European deputy Paulo Rangel.
Read more![100th anniversary of the birth of Pope Saint John Paul II – ACN remains faithful to his legacy to this day.](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5ec333290770a-20061004_035.png)
John Paul II made history during his lifetime and became one of the giants of the 20th century – both in the history of the Church and of the wider world.
Read more![Congo-Brazzaville: the Pygmies, already under threat, fear the arrival of Covid-19](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5ebb67f9af6a4-ACNphoto_templateThumbnail 800x600.jpg)
by Jacques Berset. The news came through on 14 March 2020 – the first known case of infection with Covid-19 had been detected in Brazzaville. In response the Congolese government had imposed a general lockdown on the entire population.
Read more![SYRIA: NINE YEARS OF WAR - Religious sister living in Syria talks about the country’s tragic conditions.](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5e6eaa7dd088e-Thumbnail 800x600.jpg)
by Paulo Aido (edited by Maria Lozano). March 15 will mark the ninth anniversary of the start of the conflict in Syria. "The situation is terrible," said Sister Maria Lúcia Ferreira, a sister from the Mar Yakub Monastery in Qara, in the Christian region o...
Read more![Archbishop Augustine Obiora Akubeze Remarks at the Peace Protest by CBCN in Abuja March 2020](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5e6092533c954-ACNphoto_templateThumbnail 800x600.jpg)
by Grace Attu. Today we the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria and with significant support of priests, consecrated persons and our beloved lay faithful embark on a peaceful protest against the high level of insecurity in every part of Nigeria.
Read more![The government of Nigeria does not do enough to protect Christians](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5e40d5c7dd5b5-Nigeria.jpg)
Nigeria is a unique country. Its inhabitants are distributed almost equally between Christians and Muslims. It comprises about one fifth of the African population, so a crisis that is not seriously dealt with in Nigeria would end up affecting the rest of...
Read more![PAKISTAN: An “Asia Bibi jurisprudence” now exists](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5e3cccc6e03c3-ACN-20200205-96826_Easy-Resize.com.jpg)
by Thomas Oswald. Anne-Isabelle Tollet was the first foreign journalist to alert the international community about the Asia Bibi affair. After discovering, through the Pakistani woman, the iniquity and excesses of Pakistan’s “anti-blasphemy legislation...
Read more![Burkina Faso – Bishop speaks to ACN after an Islamist attack on Christians on Sunday](https://d1jpo8rtg1c7nb.cloudfront.net/fileman/5df01dad23ebf-Burkina.jpg)
“We Christians are persecuted, while the west remains indifferent – even selling arms to the terrorists instead of stopping them”
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