Missionaries, priests and religious sisters have been forced to flee from remote towns and villages to Pemba and other large cities, which are overwhelmed with displaced people.
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The Church in Patagonia faces unique challenges, marked by vast distances, remarkable diversity and lack of resources. One of the bishops overseeing the Church's development in this vast territory of Argentina is Mgr Roberto Álvarez, who sat down with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) to share his dreams and difficulties.
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According to sources contacted by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the humanitarian situation and living conditions for the small Christian community which remains in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated over the past months. In the four months since the beginning of the conflict, thirty Christians have died in Gaza.
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The international charity Aid to the Church in Need has stepped up the provision of aid to the Sahel region following a deterioration of the security situation there over many years. Despite persecution, the number of Christians in the region is increasing.
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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 to Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Tony Pereira, a lay member of the current organising committee, spoke to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) about the origins and the importance of this devotion.
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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.
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A Pakistani archbishop painted a harrowing picture of the suffering of Christian families after last year’s riots and stressed the importance of interfaith dialogue in Westminster (29 January).
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In the Archdiocese of Tripoli, Lebanon, where Christians now make up only two per cent of the population, the Church is actively promoting interreligious dialogue with Muslims, said the Maronite Archbishop of Tripoli, Mgr Youssef Soueif. During a meeting with a visiting delegation from the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need, he spoke about the challenges the economic situation in the country poses to the archdiocese.
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Pope Francis has said that the real treasure of Myanmar is its people. As civil conflict worsens, Aid to the Church in Need supports the repeated calls of the local Catholic Church for peace and justice, not only for Christians but for all citizens in the country.
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"Vehicles for God" was the motto of a fundraising campaign initiated by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) three-quarters of a century ago. The aim was to procure motorcycles and cars that would be used to administer pastoral care in remote areas. In this interview, Regina Lynch, Executive President of ACN, talks about the beginnings and development of this special form of aid, which is as relevant today as it was back then.
Read MoreThe six religious sisters abducted in Haiti last week were freed yesterday (24th January), Port-au-Prince Archdiocese has been confirmed. The Sisters of Saint Anne and their two companions were held captive for five days after being kidnapped by unidentified gunmen on Friday, 19th January, while travelling in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital.
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The Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, suffered 119 attacks against the settled populations by Fulani herdsmen between January and the end of December 2023.
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ACN joins the Pope in asking for the immediate and unconditional release of the religious sisters from the Congregation of Saint Anne and for an end to the violence that plagues Haiti.
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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 the first catechist to be martyred in Equatorial Guinea, José Si Esono, whom the local Church would like to see beatified. The bishop also spoke about the role played by catechists in the country today.
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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 to account.
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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.
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Nineteen clerics were released and expelled from the country, adding to the dozens of others who have been exiled in the past few years. The restrictions on religious freedom continue in a country where four out of nine dioceses now have bishops living abroad, says Regina Lynch, executive president of Aid to the Church in Need.
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Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) provides health support to elderly religious sisters in northeast Brazil. Despite their age, the sisters remain active in their communities and continue praying for their benefactors.
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Thirteen priests and one religious brother were murdered in 2023, though half were killed for reasons apparently unrelated to persecution. Arrests increased, while kidnappings of clergy and religious dropped compared to 2022, but it remains a serious concern, especially in Africa.
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Yet another attack by Muslim Fulani bandits against settled communities has left Christians displaced and in despair with the lack of security and government response.
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