“Oh, what sorrow to have watched three of my parishioners shot dead in cold blood, right before my eyes — and I couldn’t do anything,” Nigerian parish priest Father Bako Francis Awesuh, 37, shared in a new Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) report published Friday. “I couldn’t pray because of the shock I Read more
More than 100 priests and nuns were kidnapped, arrested, or killed worldwide in 2022, says a report referring to data from a papal foundation. Nigeria led the list as “one of the most dangerous countries in which to serve the Church” with the brutal murder of four priests last year, the Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation Read more
The international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has approved an emergency aid package worth €500,000 (NZ$850,000) following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake which struck Haiti on 14 Aug. To date, more than 1300 people have died, and at least 5700 have been injured, according to information from the Haitian civil protection Read more
The Germany’s deadly floods have prompted the countries it usually helps to offer their support. Officials say at least 171 people have died since the flooding began last week. Many more are injured and 155 are missing. Images of Germany’s flooded villages and towns have prompted international aid agencies to offer compassion and concern. Agencies Read more
Extremists groups are fostering religious hatred by ‘weaponising technology’ according to the recently published Religious Freedom in the World Report 2021 (RFR). The RFR also says that persecution of faith groups has drastically increased in more than 95 percent of the world’s worst-offending countries. The report was produced by the international Catholic charity Aid to Read more
Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) wants the European Union and the United States to help get humanitarian aid to Syria. The charity says it is unable to make money transfers to the local Church despite humanitarian exemptions to sanctions against Syria. ACNs call for help came on the 10th anniversary of Read more
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the international organization that supports persecuted Christians around the world, has confirmed that a decade ago it received a “credible” allegation of “aggravated sexual assault” against its founder, Father Werenfried van Straaten. The Dutch-born priest founded ACN in 1947 and was its leader until his death in 2003 Read more
The Trevi Fountain in Rome is to be dyed red in recognition of Christians who even today give their lives for their faith. The April 29 event is being organised by Aid to the Church in Need and seeks to “call attention to the drama of anti-Christian persecution”. Continue reading
One in ten of the 2.2 billion Christians in the world face some degree of restriction, discrimination or outright persecution. British peer David Alton said this amounts to 200 million people in 60 countries. Persecution ranged from murder, rape and torture to repressive laws, discrimination and social exclusion, he said in a Guardian article. One Read more
A Global Day of Prayer for Peace is being organised for August 6, the feast of the Transfiguration. The international pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need and Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Rafael Sako of Iraq appealed to all people of good will to join in. A statement from Aid to the Church in Read more