The Voice of the suffering and persecuted​

During the war, the churches in the area were subject to vandalism and their icons were stolen. The destruction of Darayya came at a huge cost to its historical diversity - the suburb of Damascus is notable for its historic Christian presence, dating back centuries. Some Christian traditions hold that Darayya is close to where the conversion of the Apostle Paul took place on his way to Damascus.

Mitú is a tough place, unknown to even most Colombians. It is covered in dense forests and plagued with diseases, snakes, and other poisonous animals, not to mention perilous rivers and waterfalls. However, despite these challenges, the Church has been in the region for 100 years.

His journey to the priesthood began after praying fervently for his father’s recovery from cancer. He said, “I never thought of becoming a priest, but then my father got cancer. I prayed to God, and it changed my life.” After his father’s recovery, Deacon Kumar was drawn to the ministry.

Only a few months ago, in December 2023, a bomb killed four people attending Mass in the gymnasium of Mindanao State University in Marawi, and the same city was fully occupied by ISIS-linked militants in 2017, leading to a siege that lasted five months and resulted in the displacement of 1.1 million.

According to the Director of social communications for the Diocese of Makurdi, Father Moses Iorapuu, the principal of the Father Angus Frazer Memorial High School, Father Emmanuel Ogwuche, switched off all the lights in the building after hearing gunshots outside, preventing terrorists from finding their way into the school.

He added: “All the kidnapped girls were converted to Islam, but the 14-year-old Leah Sharibu remained faithful to her Christian belief. Her freedom of religion and belief was violated, and today, she is still in captivity.”

Then, Genaro explained to Father David that he had heard a Protestant pastor on the radio promising that anyone who came to his church would be cured of their illness. “Father, I have been going to the Catholic Church for years asking to be healed and I am still very sick. I am tired of suffering,” he said.

Honduras has the highest percentage of Protestants of any country in Latin America. There has been a remarkable increase in the number of Evangelical churches, and Protestants currently outnumber Catholics.

“The realization that there are people in our country who are cruelly murdered or abducted and disappear for political reasons or other macabre interests makes one shudder."

Naturally, this affects the  Church. Parishes and communities are unable to provide services to the faithful; heating is limited;; and the Church’s social projects, including orphanages, nursing homes, schools, and kindergartens struggle to operate in darkness. Food poisoning is also rampant due to a lack of refrigeration.