Margaret Attah, who lost both her legs in an attack on a church in western Nigeria, travelled to London to receive the award, presented by the UK Office of Aid to the Church in Need.
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Fr Ha-Jo was aware of the risks to his safety by continuing to work in Mali. Still, he persisted, driven by a desire to improve the situation for the country overall and to remain with his small Christian community. Hans-Joachim Lohre, known affectionately as Fr Ha-Jo, disappeared in Bamako, Mali, on 20 November 2022. He had over 30 years of experience in Mali. His car was found abandoned, and the cross he normally carried was on the floor.
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In March 2023, Fr Jacques Mourad, a former hostage of Islamist terrorists, was appointed Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Homs in Syria. Recently, he hosted a delegation from the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and spoke about his country's current challenges, forgiveness, and a trusting dedication to God.
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A decade-and-a-half ago Archbishop Sebastian Shaw found much scepticism and little interest in dialogue from Muslim leaders. After years of building trust, he says that the Islamic leaders themselves are now taking the initiative to speak up for persecuted Christians.
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“The people are hungry for God.” Ten years after its creation, a neighbourhood named after Hugo Chávez finally has a parish church.
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Terrorists have forced the Christian population of Débé in Burkina Faso to leave their village. Earlier, they shot dead two scouts in the village church who resisted their orders. Bishop Prosper B. Ky reported this incident during a visit to the international headquarters of the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
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Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga tours his war-torn country, where some young people find it difficult to lay down their weapons and find their way back to school. On his travels to the ‘margins’, which are particularly close to the heart of Pope Francis, the cardinal feels the pulse of an abandoned population. During his visit to the headquarters of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) he spoke about the situation in his country and the need for education of young people.
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ACN Executive President urges that conflict not be forgotten. Almost three years after the military coup of February 2021, Myanmar rebels have launched a major offensive. Following the recent coordinated offensive, known as Operation 1027, which started in Shan state, fighting has also intensified in various areas including the Sagaing region as well Chin and Kayah States, causing widespread violence and displacement.
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A project supported by ACN has been bearing fruit in southwest Nigeria, where Christian and Muslim leaders work together to promote peace in Osun State. This Catholic-led project is making a difference in a country that is otherwise known for interreligious conflict and persecution of Christians.
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In Nigeria, the kidnapping of clergy and religious figures has sadly become a frequent occurrence, often barely making headlines. Despite most victims being eventually released, the situation has evolved into a profitable venture for criminals, instilling a perpetual state of fear among the Catholic community.
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GAZA: “I am heartbroken”, Sister Nabila said about the bombing of her school. The plight and suffering of the Christian community in Gaza intensify every day.
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One month after the terrible terrorist attacks by Hamas that led to war in Gaza, the Maronite Archbishop of Tripoli, Lebanon, Monsignor Youssef Soueif, calls on the international community to urgently intervene to put an end to the devastating conflict.
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Some residents suffered light injuries, but miraculously, according to the description of a priest who was on-site at the time, nobody was killed by the blast. A bomb struck the house of a mission operated by Salesian religious sisters in Sudan, at 6:50 am on Friday, 3 November, causing serious damage.
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People in Iraq are terrified that the war in the Holy Land will engulf the region, according to a leading archbishop, who is calling on governments around the world to work to bring peace.
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An Indian archbishop has expressed delight that the Vatican has opened the cause of canonisation of martyrs killed during one of the most violent outbreaks of Christian persecution this century.
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“Only God knows how many Catholics there are in Mauritania”, says Bishop Martin Happe, from the capital Nouakchott, with a smile. Born in Germany, he belongs to the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers). In a conversation with the international pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), he looks back over 50 years of involvement with Africa – first in Mali and then, for the last 28 years, as the only bishop in the west African state of Mauritania, whose 4.5 million inhabitants are almost 100% Muslim: “They are automatically Muslim, just like in my childhood you were automatically Christian in my home country.”
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Gaza City, Königstein (Germany) - Sister Nabila, a religious sister of the Holy Rosary, who has been taking refuge in the Holy Family Parish in Gaza with 700 other Christians, has made a heartfelt plea for peace and urgent humanitarian aid in the midst of the ongoing conflict.
Read MoreAt least 16 Christians, including 10 from one family, were killed during an attack in Gaza on Thursday evening, 19 October, which provoked the total collapse of a building in the compound of the Greek Orthodox Church. According ACN’s project partners another 15 Christians are trapped under the debris. The Church of Saint Porphyrios building itself was not hit.
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October is the month of the rosary, and the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is again inviting parishes, schools and families to take part in the worldwide initiative "One Million Children Praying the Rosary", to be held today the 18th of October 2023. As Saint Padre Pio once said, "When one million children pray the rosary, the world will change."
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The pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) joins the Catholic bishops of the Holy Land in their call for a day of prayer and fasting for peace, to take place next Tuesday, 17 October.
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