The Voice of the suffering and persecuted​

In December, Maxime François-Marsal, the coordinator of ACN projects in French-speaking Africa, travelled to Congo-Brazzaville, also known as the Republic of the Congo, a nation that borders Angola, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among others. In this interview, he speaks about the state of the Congolese Church and how ACN contributes to its development.   Congo-Brazzaville isn’t in the news much. How would you describe the country?  That’s true, you don’t hear much about this country, and what’s more, it is often confused with the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is much larger and ...

The catechist was abducted last night by terrorists and his lifeless body was found near Zigni this morning. According to local sources reporting to the charity more people were kidnapped and killed along with him.

A bishop from Equatorial Guinea reflects on the causes and consequences of migration in Africa, and asks for a stronger focus on the fight against poverty and illegal emigration. In 2023, at least 8,565 people died on migratory routes all over the world, making it the deadliest year on record, according to figures published on March 6th by the International Organization for Migration. The Mediterranean route continues to be the most dangerous, with at least 3,129 people dying or going missing last year. Most of the deaths in Africa happened in the Sahara Desert and on the sea route ...

.“Church organizations and the authorities must find ways to provide families with access to basic services in their homelands. Often it is situations like these that force them to emigrate to the cities, as they must choose between access to education, health care and food, and remaining connected to their traditions and way of life.v.“Church organizations and the authorities must find ways to provide families with access to basic services in their homelands. Often it is situations like these that force them to emigrate to the cities, as they must choose between access to education, health care and food, ...

Bishop Rehmat said, “More than 300 people were arrested [following the attack], but it is unlikely that they will face justice. Slowly, they have started releasing them. Nobody has been charged.”

Though a minority, the Church has always been a “safe harbor” for the population, and at the start of the war, . Now this refuge is fragile.

“For over six hours, the bandits continued to plunder, burn, and steal. Finally, the religious and the staff members managed to escape. Some of them took refuge in the formation house, a 30-minute walk from the seminary, and others went into the streets, or in the cathedral, beside the school,."

Jesus was executed. Nailed to a cross. Inna felt her husband die twice. He was killed in the first stages of the war in 2014, and the city of Irpin put up a poster in his honor. She later learned that occupying soldiers shot through the poster. She felt like they killed him a second time.

"I realized later that I had been quite lucky. The driver of the car immediately after mine was shot dead, and if the priest who had wanted to accompany me had been in the car, he almost certainly would have been killed as well."

According to the United Christian Forum for Human Rights (UCF), an Indian ecumenical organization that tracks incidents of persecution against Christians of all denominations, at least 161 cases were reported in just the first three months of 2024.